.?^1 


LIBRARY 


SIXTY    YEARS    WITH 
PLYMOUTH  CHURCH 


J 


Sixty  Years 


WITH 


Plymouth  Church 


Br 


STEPHEN   M.    GRISWOLD 


Neiv  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.   Revell  Company 

London      and     Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


a^O 


New  York :  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  St.,  W, 
London :  21  Paternoster  Square 
EdinlmrghVaQO  Prinsies  Street 


i 

> 


DEDICATED 

To  my  New  England  Mother,  who  long 
since  entered  into  rest. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

/. 

Coming  to  New  York    , 

15 

11. 

Early  Plymouth 

22 

III. 

A  Plymouth  Usher 

30 

IV. 

Plymouth  Services  . 

.      45 

V. 

Plymouth  Members 

59 

VI. 

Buying  a  Slave  Girl 

70 

VII. 

Mr.  Beecher  in  En  giant 

I     81 

VIII. 

The  Beecher  Trial    . 

.      90 

IX. 

The  Church  Tested 

.    101 

X. 

Church     Thought     anc 

I 

Life     .... 

115 

XI. 

The  Church  Staff     . 

129 

XII. 

The  Fort  Sumter  Expe 

- 

dition   ... 

142 

XIII 

.  Quaker  City  Excursion 

.    153 

XIV. 

Personalia 

167 

XV. 

Future  Plymouth     . 

182 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

Stephen  31,  Griswold  .  i.  Title 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  .  .  .  15 
Lyman  Abbott  .  .  .  .  i.  105 
Newell  D wight  Hillis  .  .  .133 
Beecher     Statue,     City     Hall, 

Brooklyn     .     ..      .      .      .      .153 

Interior  of  Plymouth  Church  ,  173 
Chair    Used   by   Henry    Ward 

Beecher  in  Plymouth  Church  187 


PREFACE 

For  some  years  past  I  have  been 
repeatedly  urged  to  record  my  recol- 
lections of  Plymouth  Church  and 
Henry  Ward  Beecher.  One  after 
another  the  original  members  of  the 
church  have  passed  away  until  now  I 
am  almost  alone,  so  far  as  the  early 
church  connection  is  concerned,  and 
I  have  been  told  that  there  is  really 
no  one  left  who  could  give  the  per- 
sonal value  to  such  a  record.  At 
first,  as  I  thought  of  the  task,  it  ap- 
peared too  great.  Business  duties 
pressed  and  left  little  time  for  such 
a  work.  Then  out  of  the  flood  of 
recollections,  which  should  I  select? 

Recently  a  period  of  convalescence, 
II 


12  PREFACE 

following  a  somewhat  serious  illness, 
during  which  w^ork  was  forbidden, 
gave  me  leisure  which  I  occupied  in 
recording  such  incidents  as  I  thought 
might  be  of  interest  and  value.  These 
were  arranged  not  in  the  form  of  his- 
tory but  as  a  series  of  sketches  setting 
forth  different  phases  of  the  church 
history  and  the  church  life,  as  well  as 
illustrating  INIr.  Beecher  himself  as  a 
preacher  and  pastor,  but  still  more 
as  a  man.  These  are  chiefly  personal 
in  their  character.  Fifty-three  years 
of  service  as  an  usher  in  Plymouth 
Church  brought  me  into  closest 
touch  with  those  services  which  have 
made  Plymouth  so  well  known  not 
only  in  America,  but  throughout 
the  world.  Very  precious  are  those 
memories  to  me,  and  as  I  have  dwelt 


PREFACE  13 

upon  them,  I  have  felt  it  not  less  a 
privilege  than  a  duty  to  share  them 
with  others  and  thus  bear  testimony 
to  a  church  life  of  great  beauty  and 
power. 


Henry  Ward  Beecher 


COMING  TO  NEW  YORK 

^^^^^^HE  great  metropolis  of  the 
M  C^  East  has  ever  had  a  great 
^^^^^  attraction  for  the  sons  of 
rural  New  England,  and  I 
was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  In  1851 
I  made  known  to  my  parents  my  am- 
bition to  see  and  know  more  of  the 
world,  and  to  this  end  I  purposed  to 
make  my  way  to  New  York  in  search 
of  fame  and  fortune — a  wider  hori- 
zon and  a  larger  life.  I  had  spent 
my  uneventful  days  thus  far  on  my 
father's  farm,  and  both  he  and  my 
mother  were  filled  with  dismay  at  my 
determination  to  go  to  what  was,  to 
them,  a  city  of  untold  lawlessness  and 

15 


i6  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

full  of  pitfalls,  where  an  unsophisti- 
cated country  youth  like  myself 
would  be  beset  with  many  tempta- 
tions on  every  hand,  and  be  led  away 
from  the  straight  and  narrow  path 
of  his  upbringing  by  his  godly 
parents.  And  truly  the  change 
would  be  great  from  the  quiet  home 
at  Windsor  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 
the  Connecticut  to  the  stir  and  bustle 
and  crowds  of  a  great  city.  So  far 
as  success  in  any  business  I  might 
undertake  or  material  gains  were  con- 
cerned, my  parents  were  quite  sure 
that  the  possibilities  for  advancement 
were  hardly  commensurate  with  the 
danger  of  discouragement  and  com- 
plete failure. 

However,  I  had  not  spoken  with- 
out careful  thought,  and  when  they 
saw  how  strongly  I  felt,  and  that  I 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  17 

could  not  be  content  to  live  out  my 
days  on  the  farm,  they  consented  to 
my  going,  though  rather  reluctantly; 
but  it  was  what  I  wanted,  and  I  did 
not  feel  that  I  was  erecting  a  wall  of 
separation  which  would  shut  me  out 
of  the  home  of  my  childhood ;  though 
I  little  thought  how  hard  it  would  be 
to  leave  it  when  the  time  for  my  de- 
parture really  came.  My  mother, 
following  the  custom  of  most  New 
England  matrons  of  those  days — I 
wonder  sometimes  whether  they  are 
as  careful  now  to  do  the  same — 
placed  in  my  satchel  a  Bible;  and 
with  that  and  her  blessing,  on  the 
fourth  of  August,  1851, 1  started  out 
to  make  my  way  in  the  world,  arriv- 
ing in  New  York,  a  lonely  country 
boy,  with  no  introductions  and  no  one 
to  hold  out  a  helping  hand. 


1 8  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Business  opportunities  were  not  so 
varied  in  character  then  as  they  are 
now,  and  mercantile  pursuits  seemed 
to  loom  up  above  every  other ;  Amer- 
ican ships  were  winning  fame  and 
fortune  for  merchants  and  seemed  to 
me  to  offer  the  greatest  prizes.  For 
a  few  days  I  wandered  about  the 
city,  going  from  office  to  office  seek- 
ing employment,  and  before  a  week 
had  passed  I  had  secured  it;  going 
from  New  York  over  to  Brooklyn 
and  there  continuing  my  quest,  I  se- 
cured a  position  as  clerk  in  a  business 
house  on  Atlantic  Street. 

For  a  time  all  went  well ;  the  hurry 
and  bustle  of  the  city,  all  so  strange 
and  fascinating  to  me ;  the  new  occu- 
pation, calling  into  play  an  entirely 
different  line  of  thought;  the  new 
surroundings,  all  combined  to  ward 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  19 

off  any  feeling  of  loneliness  or  home- 
sickness. A  few  weeks  of  this,  how- 
ever, sufficed  to  wear  away  the  nov- 
elty, and  a  full  sense  of  my  solitary 
condition  rushed  over  me ;  I  had  made 
few  acquaintances  and  had  practi- 
cally no  society.  I  began  to  look 
around  for  companions,  or  at  least 
for  some  place  v,  here  I  could  spend 
my  evenings,  when  the  time  dragged 
most  heavily. 

It  was  fortunate  for  me  that  just 
at  this  point  where  so  many  young 
men  are  tempted  to  wander  into 
questionable  or  even  harmful  ways, 
my  thoughts  were  turned  in  a  truly 
helpful  direction.  Like  every  new- 
comer, I  had  studied  the  notices  in 
the  papers  and  on  the  fences  and  bul- 
letin boards,  and  of  them  all,  the  one 
that  had  the  greatest  attraction  for 


20  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

me  was  that  of  Plymouth  Church 
and  Henry  Ward  Beeeher,  and  I 
determined  that  the  next  Sunday  I 
would  find  my  way  to  the  church  and 
hear  him  preach,  which  I  accordingly 
did.  The  large  auditorium  of  the 
church  was  thronged,  but  I  received 
such  a  cordial  welcome  as  to  make  me 
feel  at  home,  and  was  at  once  shown 
to  a  seat.  That  service  was  a  revela- 
tion to  me,  it  was  in  every  respect  so 
very  different  from  anything  I  had 
ever  seen  or  heard.  The  singing  by 
the  great  congregation,  the  eloquence 
and  withal  the  helpfulness  of  the 
preacher,  made  a  deep  impression  on 
me — an  impression  that  stayed  with 
me  throughout  the  week,  and  I  de- 
termined to  go  again  the  next  Sun- 
day. This  time  I  was  so  fortunate 
as  to  meet  a  young  man  whom  I  had 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  21 

known  in  Hartford.  He  was  a 
friend  of  Dr.  Henry  E.  Morrill,  the 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School, 
and  through  him  I  was  invited  to  be- 
come a  member  of  a  Bible  Class,  an 
invitation  which  I  was  very  glad  to 
accept.  From  this  time  on  I  had  no 
reason  to  complain  of  any  lack  of 
social  life.  No  young  man  or  woman 
who  was  in  Plymouth  Church  at  this 
time  could  fail  to  find  the  very  best 
type  of  society;  under  the  leadership 
of  Mr.  Beecher  this  feature  of  church 
life  was  especially  emphasised.  The 
next  year  I  became  a  member  of  the 
church,  and  from  that  time,  during 
more  than  half  a  century,  Plymouth 
Church  has  been  more  to  me  than  I 
can  possibly  express. 


22  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 


EARLY    PLYMOUTH 

T  the  time  of  my  coming 
to  Brooklyn,  Plymouth 
Church  was  but  four  years 
old,  yet  it  had  already 
gained  a  most  prominent  position  not 
only  in  Brooklyn  and  New  York,  but 
in  the  entire  country,  and  indeed  was 
rapidly  achieving  an  international 
reputation.  A  brief  sketch  of  its 
history  to  this  time  will  not  be  out  of 
place. 

In  1823,  when  the  entire  popula- 
tion of  Brooklyn  was  less  than  ten 
thousand,  and  the  most  densely  pop- 
ulated section  to-day  was  but  bar- 
ren fields,  two  brothers,  John  and 
Jacob  M.  Hicks,  bought  seven  lots 


PLY  MOUTH  CHURCH  23 

running  through  from  Cranberry  to 
Orange  Streets,  for  the  use  of  "  The 
First  Presbyterian  Church."  Two 
buildings  were  erected:  a  church  edi- 
fice fronting  on  Cranberry  Street  was 
built  at  once,  and  seven  years  later  a 
lecture  room  fronting  on  Orange 
Street  was  added.  Under  the  pas- 
torates of  llev.  Joseph  Sanford,  Rev. 
Daniel  L.  Carroll,  D.  D.,  and  Rev. 
Samuel  H.  Cox,  D.  D.,  the  church 
prospered,  and  in  1846  the  question 
came  up  of  a  more  commodious  edi- 
fice. Learning  of  this,  John  T. 
Howard,  at  that  time  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  Church  of  the 
Pilgrims,  Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs,  Jr.,  pas- 
tor, conceived  the  idea  of  a  new  Con- 
gregational church  in  that  locality. 
Conference  with  David  Hale  of  the 
Broadway  Tabernacle  Church,  New 


24  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

York,  strengthened  him,  and  he  ob- 
tained the  refusal  of  the  Presb}i;erian 
property  for  $20,000.  In  September, 
by  the  payment  of  $9500,  furnished 
by  Henry  C.  Bowen,  Seth  B.  Hunt, 
John  T.  Howard,  and  David  Hale, 
the  property  was  secured.  The  new 
building  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  was  not  completed  until  May, 
1847,  and  on  the  same  day  that  it 
was  opened,  May  16,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  preached  the  first  sermon  in 
Plymouth  Church  to  audiences  that 
crowded  the  edifice  on  Cranberry 
Street  to  the  doors. 

The  method  of  organisation  was 
somewhat  unique.  The  first  meet- 
ing in  the  interest  of  the  church  was 
held  at  Mr,  Bowen's  house  on  the 
evening  of  May  8,  the  day  before  the 
Presbyterians  w^ere  to   vacate  their 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  25 

old  edifice.  There  were  present,  be- 
sides Mr.  Bowen,  David  Hale,  Jira 
Payne,  John  T.  Howard,  Charles 
Rowland,  and  David  Griffin.  On 
behalf  of  the  owners  David  Hale 
offered  the  property  for  religious 
purposes,  and  it  was  decided  to  have 
services  on  May  16.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  at  that  time  pastor  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  In- 
dianapolis, who  had  come  to  New 
York  for  the  May  anniversaries,  had 
made  an  address  at  the  meeting  of 
the  American  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety, and  had  also  spoken  elsewhere, 
winning  great  popular  favour.  He 
was  secured  for  the  morning  and 
evening  services,  and  Bev.  Mr. 
'Eggleston,  of  Ellington,  Conn., 
preached  in  the  afternoon.  Notice 
was  given  of  a  permanent  series  of 


26  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

weekly  prayer  meetings  to  be  held 
on  Friday  evenings,  and  at  the  first 
of  these,  May  21,  a  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Henry  C.  Bowen,  Rich- 
ard Hale,  John  T.  Howard,  Charles 
Rowland,  and  Jira  Payne,  was  ap- 
pointed to  make  arrangements  for 
the  formation  of  a  church.  They 
reported  on  June  11,  at  which  time 
twenty-one  persons  signified  their 
intention  to  join  the  church,  and  the 
next  day  a  council  of  ministers  and 
delegates  met  at  the  house  of  John 
T.  Howard.  The  articles  of  faith, 
covenant,  credentials  of  the  new 
members,  etc.,  were  presented  and 
approved,  and  on  June  13,  1847,  the 
new  church  was  publicly  organised, 
the  Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs,  Jr.,  preaching 
the  sermon.  The  following  evening 
the    church    by    a    unanimous    vote 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  27 

elected  Henry  Ward  Beecher  to  be 
their  pastor.  Two  months  later  he 
wrote  from  Indianapolis  accepting 
the  call.  On  October  10  he  com- 
menced his  labours,  and  on  November 
11  he  was  installed.  The  sermon  was 
preached  by  Dr.  Edward  Beecher, 
other  parts  being  taken  by  Drs. 
Nathaniel  Hewitt,  D.  C.  Lansing, 
Horace  Bushnell,  Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs, 
Jr.,  and  Rev.  J.  P.  Thompson. 

The  first  winter  proved  the  wisdom 
of  the  new  enterprise.  An  interest- 
ing revival  brought  in  a  large  num- 
ber of  new  members,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  it  became  evident  that 
the  buildings  were  entirely  inade- 
quate. There  was  talk  of  rebuild- 
ing, when  a  fire,  in  January,  1849, 
settled  the  question  by  destroying  the 
building.     Plans  for  a  new  edifice 


28  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

were  drawn,  and  after  some  months 
of  worship  in  a  temporary  Taber- 
nacle in  Pierrepont  Street,  the  pres- 
ent building  was  entered  on  the  first 
Sunday  of  1850. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  it  was 
a  live  church  that  I  joined,  and  after 
half  a  century  of  experience  and  ob- 
servation, I  can  only  thank  God  that 
I  was  brought  to  connect  myself  with 
it.  It  was  not  merely  the  marvellous 
preaching  of  Mr.  Beecher,  which  I 
feel  helped  me  greatly;  it  was  the 
whole  atmosphere  of  aggressive  work. 
The  great  audiences,  crowding  the 
pews  so  that  aisle  chairs  had  to  be  put 
in,  was  in  itself  an  inspiration ;  so  was 
also  the  fine  music  with  John  Zundel 
at  the  organ  and  the  large  choir  lead- 
ing the  vast  congregation.  The  cor- 
dial social  atmosphere  that  made  even 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  29 

a  stranger  feel  at  home  also  had  its 
share,  but  more  than  all  these  put 
together,  or  perhaps  better,  manifest 
through  all  these,  was  the  sense  that 
church  life  was  a  means  to  an  end,  not 
an  end  in  itself,  and  that  that  end 
was  the  building  up  of  a  true  and 
noble  Christian  life  in  all  its  different 
phases.  Surely  no  higher  concep- 
tion of  a  church's  sphere  can  be 
found,  and  to  this  I  believe  to  be 
due  more  than  to  any  other  one  thing 
the  power  of  Plymouth  Church. 


30  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 


A   PLYMOUTH   USHER 

XT  was  a  little  more  than  a 
year  after  I  became  a  mem- 
ber of  Plymouth  Church 
that  I  began  my  work  as 
an  usher,  and  for  fifty-three  years  I 
have  been  identified  with  Plymouth 
Church  in  that  capacity.  An  usher 
has  peculiar  opportunities  to  study 
human  nature,  both  individually  and 
collectively.  His  first  acquaintance 
is  with  the  pewholders,  and  these 
he  quickly  learns  to  distinguish. 
Plymouth  Church  was  remarkably 
hospitable  from  the  first.  The  stran- 
gers within  its  gates  usually  out- 
numbered the  regular  membership, 
and  they  represented  all  classes  and 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  31 

conditions  of  men,  but  not  more  rep- 
resentative were  they  than  the  com- 
pany of  those  who  were  the  constant 
attendants  on  its  services — the  rehed- 
upon  supporters  of  its  enterprises. 
It  was  not  a  wealthy  congrega- 
tion. There  were  a  few  men  of 
means;  excepting  possibly  Claflin, 
Bowen,  Sage,  Hutchinson,  Storrs, 
Arnold,  Graves,  Corning,  Healy, 
Bush,  Benedict,  Dennis,  there  were 
no  merchant  princes  or  princely 
bankers.  The  greater  number  were 
earnest,  aggressive  men  who  had 
something  to  do  in  life  besides  make 
money.  Generous  whenever  gen- 
erosity was  needed,  they  were  for 
the  most  part  what  are  called  "  hard- 
headed  "  business  men.  They  were 
in  Plymouth  Church,  not  because 
it  was   fashionable   to  be  there,   or 


32  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

because  it  had  the  most  noted  pas- 
tor in  America,  if  not  in  the  world, 
but  because  they  were  in  sympathy 
with  its  purpose  and  the  purpose 
of  its  pastor,  and  felt  that  there 
they  could  best  serve  their  day  and 
generation. 

Dominated  by  this  spirit,  it  was 
in  entire  keeping  with  their  habit  of 
thought  and  action  that  they  should 
seek  to  extend  as  widely  as  possible 
the  enjoyment  of  the  privileges  of 
their  own  church  life.  Hence  they 
were  cordial  to  all  visitors  to  the  vari- 
ous religious  services,  as  well  as  to 
the  social  gatherings  that  were  held. 
It  was  the  general  custom  in  Ply- 
mouth, as  in  most  churches,  to  keep 
the  seats  for  the  regular  pewholders 
until  the  commencement  of  the  serv- 
ice.    Those  who  were  not  in  their 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  33 

places  at  that  time  had  to  stand  their 
chances  with  the  guests,  and  what 
those  chances  were  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  usual  on 
Sunday  morning  to  see  a  line  of 
people  standing  in  front  of  the 
church  and  leading  on  the  one  side 
to  Henry  Street  and  on  the  other  to 
Hicks  Street,  waiting  to  be  admitted 
to  the  service.  Still  it  was  very  rare 
that  there  was  any  hard  feeling,  and 
certainly  no  expression  of  it  was 
manifest  when  pewholders  to  whom 
a  sermon  by  Mr.  Beecher  was  the 
great  treat  of  the  week,  but  who  for 
one  reason  or  another  were  delayed, 
found  their  seats  occupied,  and  were 
compelled  themselves  either  to  stand 
or  withdraw  entirely. 

The    hospitality,    too,    was    thor- 
oughly    democratic.       It    may     be 


34  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

doubted  whether  any  church  in  the 
land,  not  even  excepting  those  of 
the  Roman  Cathohc  worship,  gave 
so  genuine  a  welcome  to  every  sort 
of  people,  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low, 
educated  or  uneducated,  white,  black 
or  brown,  as  did  Plymouth  Church. 
No  man,  woman,  or  child  was  al- 
lowed to  feel  out  of  place,  or  unwel- 
come. That  this  was  and  is  true, 
is  a  notable  testimony  to  the  influ- 
ences that  controlled  the  church  from 
its  very  beginning. 

When  we  consider  the  guests,  their 
number  and  quality,  the  ushers  used 
sometimes  to  wonder  where  they  all 
came  from.  Truly,  the  fame  of 
Plymouth  had  gone  into  all  the 
world.  Travellers  visited  it,  just 
as  they  went  to  Washington  or  Ni- 
agara.   It  was  "the  thing"  to  hear 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  35 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  in  Plymouth 
Church — usually  the  two  were  abso- 
lutely identical.  Distinguished  men 
from  all  walks  in  life,  in  America 
and  every  other  country  in  Christen- 
dom, were  there.  Famous  editors, 
popular  ministers,  eminent  states- 
men, great  generals,  were  to  be  seen 
in  the  audience  Sabbath  after  Sab- 
bath. Among  those  whom  I  remem- 
ber were  Louis  Kossuth,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  General  Grant,  Charles 
Dickens,  Wendell  Phillips,  Theo- 
dore Parker,  William  Lloyd  Gar- 
rison, Charles  Sumner,  the  poet 
Whittier,  Horace  Greeley,  besides  a 
host  of  others.  During  the  Civil 
War  most  of  the  so-called  War  Gov- 
ernors, Andrews  of  IMassachusetts, 
Buckingham  of  Connecticut,  Mor- 
gan of  New  York,  Curtin  of  Penn- 


36  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

sylvania,  and  others,  were  to  be  seen 
in  the  congregation,  and  it  was  not 
an  uncommon  occurrence  to  see  many 
of  the  New  England  regiments  on 
their  way  to  the  field,  stop  over 
Sunday  and  march  into  Plymouth 
Church.  It  had  become  identified 
with  those  higher  purposes  and 
deeper  principles  of  the  war  which 
appealed  most  of  all  to  the  New 
England  conscience. 

Of  course  there  were  all  sorts  of 
experiences  in  seating  these  guests. 
The  ushers  soon  came  to  be  able  to 
tell  where  the  strangers  came  from 
by  their  form  of  expression.  "  Is  this 
Ward  Beecher's  Church?  "  invariably 
betokened  an  Englishman,  as  they 
always  called  him  Ward  Beecher  in 
England,  and  probably  more  of  the 
foreigners  who  visit  Plymouth  come 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  37 

from  there  than  from  any  other 
country.  "We  are  from  Canada," 
is  the  next  most  common  salutation. 
"I  am  a  clergyman  from  Oregon." 
"I  am  a  missionary  from  China." 
"  I  am  from  San  Francisco  and  this 
is  my  first  visit  here."  "We  are 
from  New  Jersey,  and  never  heard 
Mr.  Beecher."  "  I  am  from  Aus- 
tralia and  this  is  my  first  visit  to  this 
country."  These  are  but  illustra- 
tions of  the  expressions  which  greeted 
the  ushers  every  Sunday. 

Of  course  they  all  want  good  seats. 
It  is  astonishing  how  many  people 
come  who  are  hard  of  hearing,  and 
want  front  pews;  and  if  they  are 
seated  on  the  left  they  cannot  hear 
in  the  right  ear,  and  if  on  the  right, 
they  cannot  hear  in  the  left  ear.  All 
this    was    not    unnoticed    by    Mr. 


38  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Beecher,  as  we  realised  one  day  when, 
as  he  entered  the  pulpit,  he  turned  to 
Mr.  Whitney,  on  duty  there,  and 
putting  his  hand  to  his  ear  quietly 
said,  "  I  am  very  hard  of  hearing, 
can  you  not  give  me  a  front  seat? " 
Others,  if  you  give  them  a  front  seat, 
say  it  tires  their  eyes  to  look  up,  and 
if  they  are  seated  too  far  back,  they 
cannot  see.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
usher  to  satisfy  all.  That  strangers 
come  so  constantly  is  witness  to  the 
cordiality  and  courtesy  of  their  re- 
ception and  treatment.  Mr.  Beecher 
frequently  said  that  the  ushers  helped 
him  in  no  small  degree  in  the  Sunday 
services. 

The  interest  for  the  ushers  was  by 
no  means  finished  when  the  seats  were 
filled  and  the  standing  room  was  ap- 
portioned.   Then  came  watching  the 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  39 

effect  of  the  service  upon  the  audi- 
ence. True,  most  of  the  ushers  took 
seats  when  their  special  work  of  in- 
troduction was  over — i,  e,,  if  there 
were  any  seats  available,  or  they  had 
succeeded  in  reserving  any;  but  there 
were  always  some  on  duty,  and  not 
even  Mr.  Beecher's  eloquence  entirely 
eclipsed  the  interest  with  which  the 
various  attitudes  were  watched. 
These  attitudes  were  of  all  sorts. 
There  were  sceptical  people,  who  evi- 
dently wondered  whether  this  man 
Beecher  was  really  as  great  as  they 
tried  to  make  him  out;  they  sat  in 
their  seats  with  a  very  firm  back,  in- 
disposed to  bend  or  yield  to  any  in- 
fluence. As  a  rule  they  got  little 
farther  than  the  prayer  or  the  second 
hymn  before  there  was  a  very  percep- 
tible unbending.  Somehow  few  could 


40  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

withstand  the  power  of  Plymouth 
Church  singing,  and  Mr.  Beecher's 
prayers  had  a  wonderfully  mov- 
ing influence.  The  sermon,  how- 
ever, captured  all.  If  asked  what 
it  was  that  had  conquered  they  per- 
haps could  not  have  told,  but  sure  it 
was  that  the  shoulders  shook,  the 
head  bent  forward,  the  whole  frame 
seemed  to  respond  to  the  touch  of 
the  master  hand.  Especially  inter- 
esting was  it  to  watch  the  young 
men.  Students  came  from  all  over 
the  country  to  hear  the  "greatest 
pulpit  orator  "  in  the  land.  All  sense 
of  surroundings  was  lost,  and  bend- 
ing forward,  with  eye  fixed  on  the 
speaker,  and  even  the  mouth  open, 
as  if  in  fear  of  closing  any  possible 
avenue  by  which  the  thought  might 
enter  mind  and  heart,  they  listened 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  41 

with  an  intensity  of  attention  that 
can  scarcely  be  measured. 

The  general  bearing  of  the  audi- 
ence was  always  reverential.  There 
was  none  of  the  solemn  formality 
seen  in  a  good  many  churches.  To 
some  people  it  doubtless  savoured 
more  of  a  lecture  hall  than  of  a 
church.  The  form  of  the  auditorium 
was  the  reverse  of  the  stately  Gothic. 
There  was  no  dim  religious  light. 
Plenty  of  windows  let  in  plenty  of 
light  and  plenty  of  fresh  air.  The 
pews  were  comfortable.  Under  any 
other  preacher  they  might  have  con- 
duced to  decorous  naps.  There  was 
no  excess  of  dress.  People  wore 
clothes  for  comfort,  not  for  show, 
and  if  perchance  they  commenced 
with  style  they  invariably  ended  with 
simplicity. 


42  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

There  was,  too,  a  breezy  sort  of 
cheeriness  about  the  whole  place. 
Quiet,  friendly  chatting  between 
friends  went  on,  but  it  was  never 
obtrusive,  or  interfered  with  devo- 
tion. The  moment  service  com- 
menced it  was  manifest  that  it  was 
divine  service,  not  a  public  entertain- 
ment. Mr.  Beecher  was  a  wonderful 
reader,  and  to  hear  his  rendering  of 
a  chapter  in  the  Bible,  or  of  a  hymn 
new  or  old,  was  in  itself  a  great  privi- 
lege. During  the  prayer  there  was 
a  stillness  that  could  be  felt.  Few 
men  have  greater,  or  as  great  a  gift 
in  bringing  men  to  the  recognition  of 
their  communion  with  God. 

With  the  sermon  there  was  evident 
a  general  attitude  of  expectancy. 
Something  was  coming,  and  every- 
one wanted  to  be  sure  and  get  it. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  43 

Sometimes  it  was  humorous,  and  a 
ripple  of  laughter  would  go  over  the 
audience.  Those  who  heard  about  it 
were  apt  to  be  shocked  and  to  con- 
sider it  irreverent.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  anyone  who  was  present 
ever  had  that  feeling.  Sometimes  it 
was  pathetic,  and  there  was  sus- 
picious fumbling  in  pockets.  Some- 
times it  was  soul-stirring,  and  one 
could  see  the  forms  quiver  and  grow 
tense.  Most  often  it  was  that  calm, 
quiet,  yet  forceful  presentation  of 
truth,  not  in  the  abstract  as  some- 
thing to  be  looked  upon  from  various 
angles,  then  labelled  and  put  aside, 
but  practical,  affecting  the  daily  life ; 
and  faces  would  grow  earnest,  and 
the  results  would  be  seen  in  the  home, 
the  shop,  or  the  office. 

Service    over,    Plymouth    Church 


44  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

people  gathered  in  knots  to  chat  over 
— pretty  much  everything,  for  it  was 
like  one  big  family.  Strangers 
looked  on  with  curiosity,  generally 
appreciative,  less  often  with  a  cer- 
tain air  of  disapproval  at  the  appar- 
ent levity.  One  thing  was  noticeable : 
those  who  came  once  generally  came 
again  at  some  time,  and  so  faces  that 
had  been  strange  came  to  wear  a  fa- 
miliar look. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  45 


PLYMOUTH  SERVICES 

HEW,  if  any,  churches  in  the 
country,  certainly  none  in 
Greater  New  York,  pre- 
serve the  old-time  sim- 
plicity of  the  typical  New  England 
Congregational  Church  as  distinct 
as  does  Plymouth  Church.  The 
building  itself,  with  no  steeple,  the 
form  of  its  auditorium,  unusual  at 
that  period  in  a  church,  the  arrange- 
ment of  its  pews,  all  were  indeed  inno- 
vations, and  they  have  been  followed, 
though  hardly  improved  upon,  in 
building  other  church  edifices.  When 
it  comes  to  the  conduct  of  worship, 
however,  it  is  severe  in  its  simplicity. 
There  is  the  opening  hymn  shared  by 


46  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

the  congregation,  a  short  invocation, 
reading  of  the  Scripture,  then  the 
offering,  and  while  it  is  being  re- 
ceived an  anthem  is  sung  by  the 
choir. 

The  "  long  "  prayer  is  followed  by 
a  hymn;  but  the  chief  feature  of  the 
entire  service  is  always  the  sermon, 
after  which  comes  a  hymn  and  the 
benediction.  The  evening  service 
followed  the  order  of  that  of  the 
morning.  Of  elaborate  liturgies 
there  has  been  no  hint,  yet  the 
service  has  ever  been  both  impres- 
sive and  interesting.  People  ex- 
plained it  at  first  by  the  peculiar 
power  of  the  man  who  occupied  the 
pulpit,  yet  this  can  hardly  account 
for  its  continuance  to  the  present 
day  in  its  original  form.  The  suc- 
ceeding pastors  have  continued  the 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  47 

plan,  not  because  Mr.  Beecher  started 
it  or  perhaps  because  they  themselves 
preferred  it,  but  because  it  seems  to 
fit  Plymouth  Church,  and  is  enjoyed 
by  Plymouth  congregations.  Some- 
how a  liturgy  would  seem  entirely 
out  of  place  there,  however  appro- 
priate it  might  be  elsewhere,  and  not 
only  is  this  recognised,  but  there 
seems  to  have  been  at  no  time  any 
desire  to  make  the  service  more 
elaborate. 

When  it  comes  to  the  conduct  of 
the  different  parts  of  the  service, 
however,  there  was  nothing  hum- 
drum, or  that  savoured  of  routine. 
Mr.  Beecher  was  a  remarkable  reader. 
Delicate  shades  of  meaning  came  out 
in  the  very  tones  of  his  voice,  and  his 
power  of  intense  sympathy  made  it 
easy  for  him  to  impersonate  for  the 


48  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

time  being  almost  any  character. 
Had  he  turned  his  attention  to  the 
stage  he  would  have  been  a  wonder- 
ful actor.  As  he  read  the  Scriptures 
the  Bible  characters  stood  out  with 
marvellous  distinctness;  we  could  al- 
most see  them  or  hear  them.  He 
entered  also  so  fully  into  the  deepest 
meaning  of  what  he  read  that  the 
rendering  shed  new  light  on  some  of 
the  most  difficult  passages  of  the 
Bible.  Attention  has  more  than  once 
been  called  to  his  rendering  of  those 
verses  in  which  the  Saviour  speaks 
so  strongly  of  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees. He  would  read  them  as  if  they 
were  fairly  afire  with  indignation  and 
wrath ;  then,  softening  his  voice,  read 
them  again  with  an  infinite  pathos, 
as  if  they  were  prophecy  rather  than 
condemnation,   and  ask  which  ren- 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  49 

dering  was  more  in  accord  with  the 
nature  of  Jesus. 

The  same  thing  was  manifest  in 
his  rendering  of  hymns.  He  was  ex- 
tremely fond  of  poetry,  and  searched 
far  and  wide  for  the  best  hymns. 
Our  first  hymn  book  was  a  httle  one 
known  as  Temple  Melodies.  Mr. 
Beecher  could  not  get  along  with  this, 
and  with  the  aid  of  his  brother,  Rev. 
Charles  Beecher,  and  the  organist, 
John  Zundel,  compiled  and  published 
the  Plymouth  Collection.  This  long 
held  its  place  at  the  head  of  church 
hymnals  and  really  worked  a  revo- 
lution in  church  music. 

To  many  the  feature  of  the  whole 
service  was  the  "long  prayer,"  as  it 
was  called.  Many  who  could  not 
quite  agree  with  all  the  conclusions 
and  statements  of  the  sermons  found 


50  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

these  prayers  of  wonderful  help.  The 
same  sympathy  that  made  his  render- 
ing of  Scripture  so  effective  became 
very  apparent  when  he  took  up  the 
problems  of  daily  life,  the  perplexi- 
ties, doubts,  temptations,  successes. 
Probably  no  preacher  has  ever  had 
such  wide  publication  of  his  prayers 
as  Mr.  Beecher,  and  the  Book  of 
Prayers  from  Plymouth  Pulpit  be- 
came a  source  of  spiritual  strength 
to  many  who  could  not  attend  the 
services.  They  were  taken  down  in 
shorthand,  as  were  his  sermons,  and 
published,  appearing  first  in  the 
Christian  Union  and  then  in  book 
form. 

The  sermon  needs  no  description 
from  me — even  if  I  could  give  it. 
It  seemed  the  very  expression  of  the 
man,  his  interpretation  of  himself, 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  51 

Mr.  Beecher  was  to  all  appearance 
well-nigh  reckless  in  the  vigour  with 
which  he  made  statements  that  seemed 
to  him  to  be  true,  with  little  or  no  re- 
gard to  their  relation  to  other  truths. 
The  result  was  that  he  was  charged 
with  being  grossly  inconsistent.  One 
day  he  would  preach  a  sermon  that 
would  have  delighted  the  old  New 
England  divines.  The  next  Sunday 
he  seemed  an  out-and-out  Unitarian, 
while  Quakers,  Swedenborgians  and 
all  sorts  of  beliefs  claimed  him.  The 
explanation  was  that  he  saw  very 
clearly  the  element  of  truth  in  any 
system,  whether  he  agreed  with  it  in 
full  or  not,  and  in  his  effort  to  state 
it  plainly  and  give  due  credit  to  it, 
often  left  the  impression  that  the  par- 
ticular statement  he  made  was  all 
there  was  to  it.    One  result  was  that 


52  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

the  independent  forming  of  opinions 
was  encouraged  and  helped  in  Ply- 
mouth Church  as  in  few  churches. 
Those  who  imagined  that  Mr.  Beecher 
dominated  the  thought  of  his  people 
to  an  extent  which  made  them  mere 
echoes  of  himself  were  very  far  from 
the  truth.  It  was  an  intellectual  stim- 
ulus to  sit  under  him,  not  merely  in 
the  effort  to  keep  up  with  his  thought, 
which  poured  forth  like  Niagara,  but 
in  the  compulsion  to  form  an  inde- 
pendent personal  opinion.  Men  loved 
to  hear  him,  not  so  much  because  they 
always  agreed  with  him  as  because 
he  had  the  faculty  of  stimulating  the 
best  there  was  in  them,  arousing  their 
highest  ambitions. 

In  no  single  service  was  Mr. 
Beecher  at  his  best  so  completely  as 
in  the  communion  service.     It  was 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  53 

distinctively  a  family  gathering  in 
which  the  host  was  not  Mr.  Beecher, 
or  Plymouth  Church,  but  the  Sav- 
iour, and  to  it  were  welcome  all  who 
loved  that  Saviour,  whatever  their 
formal  creed  or  church  connection,  or 
even  if  they  were  without  any  creed  or 
connection;  this  was  the  impression 
left  upon  those  who  came  from  other 
churches,  and  this  was  the  descrip- 
tion of  it  given  me  by  a  theological 
student,  who  said  that  he  came  from 
a  distant  city  to  Brooklyn  and  timed 
his  visit  primarily  with  reference  to 
that  service  and  especially  to  Mr. 
Beecher's  invitation  as  given  by  him 
from  the  pulpit.  In  these  days  there 
is  nothing  very  startling  in  that  posi- 
tion, but  in  the  earlier  times  it  was 
regarded  as  a  very  unsafe  liberality, 
even  if  not  absolutely  wrong. 


54  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

As  I  have  already  said,  the  music 
of  Plymouth  Church  has  always  been 
an  important  part  of  the  church  wor- 
ship. The  high-priced  quartet  has 
never  been  relied  upon,  the  chorus 
choir  being  preferred,  not  merely  for 
its  own  singing,  but  because  it  served 
best  in  leading  the  congregation,  and 
that  was  the  thing  ever  kept  in  mind. 
Mr.  Beecher  loved  the  old-fashioned 
hymns,  though  he  had  also  a  hearty 
welcome  for  new  ones,  and  he  was 
never  satisfied  unless  he  got  every- 
body to  singing.  I  have  often  seen 
him  jump  up  from  his  chair  right  in 
the  middle  of  a  hymn  and  hold  up  his 
hand  for  silence.  "  You  are  not  sing- 
ing this  hymn  right,"  he  would  say. 
"  Sing  it  with  more  spirit,  and  let 
everybody  sing."  The  effect  upon 
the  congregation  would  be  electric, 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  55 

and  after  that  the  church  would 
fairly  tremble  with  the  volume  of 
music  the  audience  would  pour  forth. 
The  result  has  been  that  it  has  always 
been  the  fashion  for  everybody  in  the 
congregation,  strangers  as  well  as 
members,  to  sing,  and  this  undoubt- 
edly has  had  a  share  in  doing  away 
with  coldness  and  formality  in  the 
service. 

All  this,  however,  could  not  have 
been  accomplished  without  the  cordial 
sympathy  and  positive  help  of  many 
great  organists  and  leading  singers. 
There  have  been  more  famous  musi- 
cians engaged  for  Plymouth  Church 
Choir  during  the  past  fifty  years  than 
in  any  other  church  in  this  country, 
if  not  in  the  world.  Among  the 
names  I  may  mention  are  Zundel, 
Burnet,  Stebbins,  Wheeler,  Thursby, 


56  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Toedt,  Sterling,  Lasar,  Damrosch, 
Warrenwrath,  Camp,  and  many 
others.  Of  them  all  probably  John 
Zundel  came  the  nearest  to  Mr. 
Beeeher's  ideal.  He  entered  heart- 
ily into  all  the  preacher's  ideas  and 
feelings  and  seemed  to  understand 
just  how  to  interpret  him  in  music; 
Mr.  Beecher  used  to  say  that  he  in- 
spired his  sermons.  It  has  not  been 
surprising  that  even  with  the  in- 
evitable changes  brought  by  time, 
there  have  been  but  few  intervals, 
and  those  very  brief,  from  the  organ- 
isation of  the  church  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  when  the  music  has  not  been 
of  the  highest  order,  and  the  stand- 
ard of  to-day  is  in  no  respect  inferior 
to  that  of  the  past. 

Among  my  earliest  recollections  of 
Mr.  Beeeher's  preaching  was  the  pro- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  57 

fusion  of  his  illustrations  from  na- 
ture. Every  part  and  manifestation 
of  nature  had  its  place,  but  so  fre- 
quent were  his  references  to  flowers 
that  it  became  a  common  saying 
among  members  of  Plymouth  Church 
that  "  Mr.  Beecher  must  be  very  fond 
of  flowers."  He  seemed  to  know 
every  flower  in  the  garden  or  in  the 
field,  and  was  constantly  drawing  les- 
sons from  them  or  using  them  in  some 
way  to  enforce  a  point. 

One  Sunday  morning,  I  think  it 
was  in  1852,  someone  sent  him  a 
small  bouquet  in  a  vase.  He  took  it 
to  church  with  him,  placed  it  on  the 
little  table  at  his  side,  and  there  it 
remained  during  the  service.  It  is 
diflicult  in  these  days  to  understand 
what  a  commotion  it  occasioned. 
Such  a  thing  as  bringing  flowers  into 


58  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

a  church  on  the  Sabbath  day  had 
never  been  heard  of,  and  was  not  at 
all  in  accord  with  traditional  New 
England  ideas.  Everyone  in  the 
congregation  of  course  noticed  it,  and 
that  bouquet  of  flowers  became 
during  the  week  the  talk  of  all 
Brooklyn. 

There  were  not  a  few  who  were 
alarmed  at  Mr.  Beecher's  rapidly 
growing  popularity,  and  who  made  a 
point  of  finding  fault  with  everything 
he  did.  These  declared  that  Henry 
Ward  Beecher  had  desecrated  the 
House  of  God  by  taking  flowers  into 
the  pulpit  during  religious  worship  I 
This,  however,  affected  neither  Mr. 
Beecher  nor  the  church.  Flowers  on 
the  pulpit  had  come  to  stay,  and  stay 
they  did,  and  now  are  recognised  as  a 
legitimate  part  of  church  service  all 
over  the  world. 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  59 


PLYMOUTH  MEMBERS 

fiLYMOUTH  CHURCH 
was  born  in  days  of  strife. 
It  was  natural  that  the 
miHtant  element  should  be 
dominant.  The  very  way  in  which 
the  church  was  organised  was  illus- 
trative of  their  methods.  The  prompt 
improvement  of  the  opportunity  to 
buy  the  property,  the  meeting  one 
week,  the  opening  of  services  the  next 
week,  the  organisation  of  the  church, 
the  calling  of  the  council,  the  invita- 
tion to  Mr.  Beecher  to  be  their  pastor, 
all  in  quick  succession,  were  charac- 
teristic. 

Mr.   Howard  was  one  who  nat- 
urally  foresaw  the   possibilities   for 


6o  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

the  future,  and  thus  came  into  leader- 
ship in  the  origin  of  the  enterprise. 
Once  started,  however,  the  initiative 
and  the  dominating  influence  be- 
longed to  a  group  of  men,  of  consid- 
erable note  at  the  time  as  being  closely 
identified  with  the  anti-slavery  agita- 
tion, and  who  were  out  of  patience 
with  what  they  considered  the  time- 
serving policy  of  too  many  of  the 
churches,  and  particularly  of  the  va- 
rious benevolent  and  missionary  socie- 
ties :  Henry  C.  Bowen,  Richard  Hale, 
Arthur  and  Lewis  Tappan.  These 
w^ere  in  business,  chiefly  dry  goods, 
and  had  large  connections  with  the 
South.  As  the  strife  grew  more 
severe,  complaints  grew,  and  finally 
the  Southern  merchants  drew  up  a 
list  of  Northern  merchants  with 
whom  they  would  have  no  dealings. 
All  four  of  these  men  were  on  that 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  6i 

list.  Mr.  Bowen's  partner,  Mr.  Mc- 
Namee,  was  one  with  him,  but  it  was 
Mr.  Bowen  in  particular  who  sent  the 
famous  retort,  when  urged  to  cater  to 
his  Southern  constituency: 

"  Our  goods  are  for  sale,  but  not 
our  principles." 

He,  as  others,  suffered  for  this, 
but  the  only  effect  it  had  was  to 
strengthen  them  in  the  position  they 
had  taken.  The  American  nation 
owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  patri- 
otic New  York  merchants  who  stood 
for  liberty  and  their  country  in  these 
perilous  times.  Among  the  first  was 
the  great  house  founded  by  H.  B. 
Claflin. 

It  was  natural  under  the  circum- 
stances that  the  early  history  of  the 
church  should  have  been  very  much 
controlled  by  these  men.  Of  them 
all,  Mr.  Bowen  was  perhaps  the  most 


62  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

aggressive  and  the  most  of  a  leader. 
He  was  the  first  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  School,  and  had  much  to 
do  with  the  plans  for  and  the  erection 
of  the  present  church  building.  A 
man  of  very  positive  convictions  and 
great  executive  ability,  he  did  what 
he  did  with  his  might.  The  same 
characteristics  went  into  his  conduct 
of  The  Independent,  of  which  he 
was  one  of  the  founders  in  1848. 
While  the  fame  of  its  editors,  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  Joseph  P.  Thompson 
and  Richard  Salter  Storrs,  went  far 
and  wide,  not  a  little  of  the  success 
of  the  paper  was  due  to  his  general 
management,  and  to  his  hearty  in- 
dorsement of  the  position  of  his 
editors,  however  radical  they  were — 
indeed  the  more  radical  the  better. 
Later,  when  he  acquired  entire  con- 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  63 

trol,  these   characteristics   were  still 
more  manifest. 

Another  prominent  man  was  Aus- 
tin Abbott,  brother  of  Dr.  Lyman 
Abbott,  a  well-known  lawyer,  and  one 
who  was  closely  identified  with  the 
defence  of  Mr.  Beecher  in  his 
famous  trial.  Well  do  I  remember 
him  as  he  first  came,  a  boy,  and  took 
his  seat  in  the  west  gallery.  Then 
there  were  Henry  M.  and  Augustus 
Storrs.  The  former  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  Horace  Greeley  and  used 
to  travel  about  with  him  in  his  po- 
litical tours.  Both  were  warm  friends 
of  Mr.  Beecher,  but  Augustus  was 
specially  active ;  it  was  at  his  house  in 
Sidney  Place  that  many  of  the  meet- 
ings for  consultation  were  held. 
Robert  R.  Raymond  came  to  Brook- 
lyn from  Boston  and  brought  the 


64  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

classic  atmosphere,  combined  with  a 
most  emphatic  manner,  to  his  profes- 
sor's work  in  the  Polytechnic  Insti- 
tute. He  was  one  of  the  compara- 
tively few  who  took  part  in  the 
prayer  meetings,  which  generally 
were  really  lecture  talks  by  Mr. 
Beecher.  He  seemed  to  think  that  a 
literary  atmosphere  would  certainly 
do  no  harm,  for  his  favourite  subject 
was  Shakespeare,  and  he  frequently 
read  lengthy  extracts  from  his  plays. 
He  became  widely  known  as  a  student 
and  reader  of  Shakespeare.  His  son, 
Rossiter  Raymond,  will  be  mentioned 
later. 

Robert  S.  Bussing  was  specially 
interested  in  the  Bethel  Mission;  at 
first  it  was  independent,  but  after- 
wards became  a  regular  part  of  Ply- 
mouth Church  work.     General  Ho- 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  65 

ratio  C.  King  was  among  the  leaders 
in  somewhat  later  days.  A  son  of 
Horatio  King,  United  States  Post- 
master-General under  Buchanan,  he 
always  identified  himself  with  the 
various  reform  movements,  especially 
the  anti-slavery  ones,  and  was  thus  in 
hearty  sjTnpathy  with  Mr.  Beecher 
and  Plymouth  Church  in  its  activities, 
and  has  for  many  years  served  as  clerk 
of  the  church.  Always  interested  in 
music,  he  was  a  fine  organist  and 
helped  materially  in  that  department 
of  church  worship.  Another  whose 
name  became  very  widely  known,  es- 
pecially at  the  time  of  the  trial,  was 
Thomas  G.  Shearman.  He  was  also 
identified  with  every  phase  of  church 
life,  was  clerk  for  many  years,  and 
an  active  and  most  loyal  upholder  of 
pastor  and  church. 


66  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

For  the  most  part  these  were  not 
very  wealthy  men,  though  Augustus 
Storrs  was  esteemed  such,  and  Mr. 
Bussing  at  one  time  had  a  large  in- 
come. There  were  a  few,  however, 
of  large  means,  and  they  gave  most 
liberally:  Horace  B.  Claflin,  Rufus 
R.  Graves,  and  Henry  W.  Sage.  Mr. 
Sage  will  long  be  remembered  for  his 
generous  gifts  to  Cornell  University, 
and  was  always  looked  to  for  cordial 
support  of  any  good  cause  in  Brook- 
lyn. Horace  B.  Claflin  as  founder 
of  the  great  H.  B.  Claflin  Company 
was  not  less  munificent,  though  often 
in  ways  less  prominent  before  the 
public,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
Mr.  Graves.  These  with  Mr.  Storrs 
were  always  bidders  for  the  highest 
priced  pews,  paying  premiums  vary- 
ing from  $3000  to  $5000  each. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  67 

While  present  days  are  not  so 
strenuous  as  those  early  years,  and 
modern  conditions  scarcely  develop 
individual  influence  in  church  life  of 
as  great  intensity  as  the  times  of  con- 
flict, Plymouth  to-day  has  a  large  and 
influential  company  of  men  identi- 
fied with  its  life.  Among  them  Gen- 
eral Horatio  C.  King,  already  spoken 
of,  and  Professor  Rossiter  W.  Ray- 
mond, are  some  of  the  links  connect- 
ing the  present  with  the  past.  No 
one  who  has  listened  to  Professor 
Raymond's  explanations  of  Scrip- 
tures or  heard  his  talks  in  the  meet- 
ings fails  to  realise  his  power  in  the 
church  life.  "  Deacon  "  Stephen  V. 
White  has  long  been  a  well-known 
member,  as  liberal  as  he  is  loyal;  so 
too  are  John  Arbuckle,  the  coffee 
merchant,  Henry  Hentz  and  Henry 


68  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Chapin,  Jr.  Mr.  Beecher  is  repre- 
sented by  his  son,  William  C,  and  the 
Howard  family  is  still  well  known  in 
Plymouth. 

Mention  of  even  a  few  would  in- 
clude Benjamin  F.  Blair,  Walter  L. 
Wellington,  F.  G.  Corning,  son  of 
Rev.  J.  L.  Corning,  one  of  the  early 
members,  George  W.  Mabie,  T.  W. 
Lauterdale,  Philip  M.  Knight,  Geo. 
W.  Bardwell,  Elijah  R.  Kennedy, 
Frank  M.  Brooks,  Horace  D.  Sher- 
rill,  Jas.  A.  Brodie,  Chas.  N.  Judson, 
Terance  Jacobson,  Dr.  Wm.  Morris 
Butler,  Chas.  H.  More,  Clarence  B. 
Wisner,  Wm.  Foster,  Benjamin  F. 
Webb,  H.  Edward  Dreier,  Amos  D. 
Carver,  Wm.  E.  Davenport,  W.  F. 
Osborne,  H.  A.  Garthewait,  A.  K. 
Powell,  Frederick  W.  Starr,  Louis 
N.  Chapin,  Dwight  Studwell,  Henry; 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  69 

Sanger  Snow,  A.  Stanwood,  Sea- 
bury  N.  Haley,  Wm.  Tupper,  Fred- 
erick W.  Heinrich,  H.  W.  Wheeler, 
M.  C.  Ogden,  John  H.  Jackson, 
George  A.  Price,  W.  P.  Long,  Mr. 
Carpenter,  Mr.  Ramsay,  Mr.  Ken- 
yon,  Mr.  Smith,  Mr.  Bingham,  Mr. 
Ayers,  Mr.  Aderley,  and  many 
others. 


70  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 


BUYING  A   SLAVE   GIRL 

XT  is  impossible  to  under- 
stand accurately  the  early 
history  of  Plymouth 
Church,  and  realise  the 
position  it  held  in  the  country,  as  well 
as  its  influence  over  its  members, 
without  some  knowledge  of  the  gen- 
eral history  of  the  times.  It  was  a 
period  of  great  political  ferment. 
The  slavery  question  was  looming  up 
as  the  "irrepressible  conflict."  The 
war  with  Mexico,  at  its  height  when 
the  church  was  organised,  precipi- 
tated the  discussion  as  to  the  exten- 
sion of  slave  territory.  The  discov- 
ery of  gold  in  California  (February, 
1850)  opened  up  possibilities  of  na- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  71 

tional  growth  undreamed  of  before, 
and  which  stirred  the  greatest  ambi- 
tions, especially  in  the  slave  states. 
The  passage  of  the  fugitive  slave 
law  (September,  1850)  was  but  fuel 
to  the  flame.  Into  the  discussions  of 
the  time  two  Congregational  minis- 
ters threw  themselves  with  all  the 
ardour  of  their  natures,  and  excep- 
tional abiHty — Henry  Ward  Beecher, 
of  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn,  and 
Joseph  P.  Thompson,  of  Broadway 
Tabernacle,  New  York.  Nor  did 
they  lack  for  hearty  support  by  their 
churches.  The  men  who  stood  behind 
them  were  equally  in  earnest  with 
themselves.  The  pulpits — or  rather 
platforms — of  both  were  free  for  the 
presentation  of  the  cause  of  justice 
and  liberty,  and  many  scenes  in  them 
have  become  historic. 


72  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

On  one  occasion  the  Broadway 
Tabernacle,  at  that  time  located  on 
Broadway  near  Duane  Street,  was 
opened  for  a  mass  meeting.  Mr. 
Beecher  was  advertised  to  speak,  and 
the  house  was  packed.  He  was  lis- 
tened to  with  closest  attention  and 
deepest  interest,  but  the  climax  came 
when  turning  round  he  lifted  a  chain 
that  had  been  taken  from  a  slave  in 
the  South,  held  it  for  a  moment  high 
above  his  head,  then  dashed  it  to  the 
floor,  placed  his  foot  upon  it  and 
said :  "  In  this  way  we  propose  to  deal 
with  the  slave  power  in  the  South." 
The  effect  upon  the  audience  was 
thrilling  and  the  applause  fairly 
rocked  the  building. 

Another  scene,  which  none  who  wit- 
nessed it  could  ever  forget,  was  in 
Plymouth  Church.     It  was  Sabbath 


FLY  MOUTH  CHURCH  73 

morning,  and  as  usual  every  seat  and 
all  the  available  standing  room  was 
filled.  After  the  sermon  Mr.  Beecher 
said  that  he  had  a  matter  which  he 
wished  to  present  to  the  congrega- 
tion. No  one  had  the  least  idea  as  to 
what  he  was  going  to  do,  and  the 
people  waited  in  profound  silence. 
He  then  said,  "  Sarah,  come  up  here." 
As  the  audience  looked,  a  little  mu- 
latto girl  arose  in  the  body  of  the 
church,  ran  up  the  pulpit  steps  and 
took  Mr.  Beecher's  hand.  Turning 
to  the  assembled  multitude  he  said: 
"  This  little  girl  is  a  slave,  and  I  have 
promised  her  owner  $1200,  his  price 
for  her,  or  she  will  be  returned  to 
slavery.    Pass  the  basket." 

The  ushers  found  their  way 
through  the  vast  audience.  Although 
the  church  seated  only  a  little  more 


74  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

than  two  thousand,  there  must  have 
been  nearly  three  thousand  present, 
and  soon  the  collection  was  made.  It 
appeared  that  the  sum  total  was  not 
far  from  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 
Many  gave  jewelry,  diamonds, 
watches  and  chains.  Her  freedom 
was  announced  amid  thunders  of  ap- 
plause. This  was  not  the  only  in- 
stance of  a  similar  nature.  Mr. 
Beecher  was  frequently  condemned 
for  even  in  form  acknowledging  the 
right  of  a  slave  owner  to  any  re- 
muneration for  a  slave,  but  if  he 
thought  a  thing  right  to  do,  he  did 
it  without  the  least  regard  to  what 
other  people  might  say. 

There  was  probably  no  one  ques- 
tion at  the  time  about  which  there 
were  more  intensely  opposing  opin- 
ions, than  this  one  of  the  return  of 


PLY  MOUTH  CHURCH  75 

slaves.  Congress  had  passed  the  fu- 
gitive slave  law,  and  all  lawyers  and 
students  of  the  Constitution  affirmed 
not  merely  its  legality,  but  its  justice, 
at  least  its  technical  justice.  To  a 
large  number,  however,  the  fact  that 
it  was  legal  made  no  difference  so 
long  as  they  were  convinced  that  it 
was  morally  wrong.  Among  these 
was  Mr.  Beecher,  and  he  had  the  cor- 
dial support  of  the  people.  One  re- 
sult was  the  formation  all  through 
the  North  of  a  system,  known  as  the 
Underground  Railroad,  by  which 
slaves  escaping  from  the  South  were 
helped  on  their  way  until  they  could 
reach  Canada,  when  they  were  free. 
It  was  no  secret  that  some  of  the  men 
in  Plymouth  Church  knew  a  good 
deal  about  this  railroad,  and  were 
deeply    interested    in    helping   men. 


76  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

women    and    girls    to    escape    from 
bondage. 

The  first  national  event  in  which 
the  church  took  a  definite  part,  so 
far  as  I  remember,  was  the  question 
as  to  whether  Kansas  should  be  a  free 
or  a  slave  state.  Settlers  were  rush- 
ing in  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  the  North  was  favouring  those 
who  were  opposed  to  slavery,  while 
the  South  sought  to  strengthen  the 
slave-holding  element.  The  result 
was  a  constant  clashing,  resulting  in 
what  came  to  be  known  as  the  Bor- 
der Ruffian  War,  in  which  John 
Brown  first  appeared  as  a  national 
figure.  In  the  difficulty  of  provision- 
ing such  a  new  country,  all  sorts  of 
supplies  were  rushed  in,  including 
ammunition  and  Bibles.  Mr.  Beecher 
told  his  congregation  that  just  then 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  77 

a  Sharps  rifle  was  as  good  a  mission- 
ary to  send  as  a  Bible.  Accordingly 
the  church  purchased  and  boxed  up 
several  cases  of  rifles  and  Bibles  and 
sent  them  out.  These  rifles  were 
afterwards  called  Beecher  Bibles. 

The  events  that  followed,  leading 
up  to  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  were 
all  part  of  Plymouth  Church  life.  It 
seemed  sometimes  as  if  Mr.  Beecher 
was  everywhere  and  nothing  could  be 
done  without  him.  At  the  time  when 
Senator  Brooks  in  the  United  States 
Senate  made  his  unprovoked  attack 
on  Charles  Sumner,  the  whole  coun- 
try was  wild  with  indignation.  Meet- 
ings were  held  on  every  hand  to  pro- 
test against  the  outrage.  Every  item 
of  news  from  Mr.  Sumner's  bedside 
was  watched  for  with  intense  solici- 
tude, and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if 


78  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

the  fate  of  war  or  peace  hung  upon 
the  life  of  the  Senator.  Among  the 
meetings  was  one  called  to  take  place 
in  front  of  City  Hall,  Brooklyn,  and, 
as  so  often  was  the  case,  Mr.  Beecher 
was  the  speaker.  The  Square  was 
packed,  and  as  he  came  out  on  the 
steps  of  the  City  Hall  to  speak  a 
great  cheer  went  up,  a  cheer  not 
merely  of  sympathy  for  Mr.  Sumner, 
but  of  faith  in  and  regard  for  the 
speaker.  Mr.  Beecher,  with  his  mar- 
vellous power,  raised  his  voice  so  that 
it  could  be  heard  all  over  the  Square, 
and  for  an  hour  he  held  the  audience 
spellbound  with  his  arraignment  of 
the  slave  power  of  the  South,  and  the 
wrongs  it  was  committing,  while  he 
affirmed  his  conviction  that  the  con- 
flict would  result  in  a  storm  of  civil 
war.    It  was  a  wonderful  illustration 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  79 

of   the   inspiration   that   made   him 
great. 

A  very  different,  yet  not  less  char- 
acteristic, scene  was  that  in  the  lec- 
ture room  of  the  church  one  Friday 
evening,  when  the  news  of  the  death 
of  John  Brown  had  come.  Looking 
back  over  the  years  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  his  attempt  with  a  mere  handful 
of  men  to  free  the  slaves  of  the  South 
was  a  most  foolish  thing.  Yet  at 
that  time  so  keen  was  the  realisation 
of  the  wrongs  that  slavery  had  com- 
mitted and  so  hearty  the  respect  for 
the  nobility  of  his  purpose  and  of  his 
character,  that  from  all  the  land  there 
went  up  one  general  expression  of 
sympathy.  The  seriousness  of  the 
situation  appears  in  the  fact  that  the 
State  of  Virginia  felt  obliged  to  call 
out  a  large  number  of  troops  on  the 


8o  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

day  of  his  execution  to  quell  any 
popular  disturbance.  The  day  of  the 
execution  was  Friday,  and  as  the 
audience  crowded  the  room,  it  was 
easy  to  see  that  there  was  but  one 
thought  in  the  minds  of  all.  Mr. 
Beecher  came  in  and  took  his  seat 
upon  the  platform,  a  strange  and  un- 
usual expression  on  his  face,  indicat- 
ing the  intensity  of  the  feeling  within. 
After  one  or  two  short  prayers,  and 
a  couple  of  hymns,  one  after  another 
gave  expression  to  his  sorrow  and 
amazement  at  the  condition  of  things 
between  the  North  and  the  South, 
and  through  all  there  was  manifest 
the  conviction  that  war  and  bloodshed 
were  sure  to  come.  The  meeting  was 
long  and  earnest,  showing  the  deep 
impression  made  on  the  people  of  the 
church. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  8i 


MR,  BEECHER  IN  ENGLAND 

^^^^HE  most  critical  time  for 
M  C|  the  North  during  the  Civil 
^^^^^  War  was  when  it  was 
thought  that  England 
would  recognise  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy. The  close  relations  be- 
tween the  cotton  manufacturers  of 
England  and  the  vast  cotton  produc- 
ers of  the  South  created  a  public 
sentiment  in  England  in  favour  of 
the  slave  states.  The  feeling  on  both 
sides  was  intensified  by  the  "  Trent 
Affair."  Two  Confederate  envoys, 
sent  to  Europe  to  secure  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  Confederacy,  were  taken 
from  the  British  steamship  Trent  by 
a  United  States  man-of-war.    Great 


82  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Britain,  which  had  declared  neu- 
trality and  thus  granted  the  Confed- 
eracy the  rights  of  belligerents,  de- 
manded their  surrender.  Feeling  in 
the  North  ran  very  high,  and  there 
were  most  vigorous  protests  against 
yielding  to  the  English  demands. 
The  President  and  his  advisers,  how- 
ever, realising  that  the  arrest  of  the 
two  envoys  tallied  very  closely  with 
the  English  actions  that  had  brought 
on  the  War  of  1812,  concluded  that 
it  was  wiser  to  avoid  so  far  as  possible 
any  occasion  for  interference  on  the 
part  of  Europe,  and  returned  the  en- 
voys. Their  arrival  in  England  and 
their  setting  forth  of  their  side  of  the 
conflict  was  a  signal  for  a  great  in- 
crease of  hostility  to  the  North,  and 
the  pressure  from  the  industrial  cen- 
tres became  so  great  that  probably 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  83 

only  the  steadfast  friendship  for  the 
North  of  the  Queen's  husband, 
Prince  Albert,  averted  what  would 
most  certainly  have  been  a  great 
calamity.  Even  Mr.  Gladstone  had 
expressed  his  conviction  that  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Southern  States,  so  far  at 
least  as  regarded  their  separation 
from  the  North  was  concerned,  was 
"  as  certain  as  any  event  yet  future 
and  contingent,  could  be."  Even 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation  did 
not  suffice  to  open  the  eyes  of  many 
to  the  real  issues,  and  there  was  a 
widespread  feeling  that  some  way 
must  be  found  to  present  the  cause 
of  the  North  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
reach  the  English  conscience  and 
genuine  love  of  liberty. 

In    the    summer    of    1863    Mr. 
Beecher  had  been  sent  to  Europe  for 


84  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

a  rest.  On  his  return  he  came  to 
England,  and  immediately  there 
arose  a  general  demand  for  him  to 
represent  America.  His  marvellous 
success  in  the  anti-slavery  campaign 
preceding  the  Civil  War,  his  wide- 
spread popularity,  and  particularly 
his  power  over  audiences,  made  many 
look  to  him  as  the  providential  am- 
bassador. He  demurred  at  first,  but 
at  last  yielded. 

When  he  arrived  in  London,  Man- 
chester, and  Liverpool,  where  great 
mass  meetings  had  been  arranged  for 
him  to  address,  he  found  that  every 
effort  had  been  made  to  discredit  him, 
by  huge  posters  placed  throughout 
the  country  asking:  "Who  is  Henry 
Ward  Beecher?  He  is  the  man  who 
said  the  best  blood  of  England  must 
be  shed  to  atone  for  the  Trent  affair. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  85 

Men  of  Manchester,  Englishmen, 
what  recejDtion  can  you  give  this 
man?  He  is  the  friend  of  General 
Butler.  He  is  the  friend  of  that  so- 
called  gospel  preacher,  Cheever.  His 
impudence  in  coming  here  is  only 
equalled  by  his  cruelty  and  impiety." 
The  meeting  at  Liverpool  was  an- 
nounced as  follows.  "  At  a  meeting 
held  in  New  York  at  the  time  when 
the  Confederate  envoys,  Messrs.  Ma- 
son and  Slidell,  had  been  surrendered 
by  President  Lincoln  to  the  British 
Government,  from  whose  vessel  (the 
Royal  Mail  Steamer  Trent)  they 
were  taken,  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  said.  This  act  will  demon- 
strate the  unfeeling  selfishness  of 
the  British  Government  and  bring  us 
to  a  realisation  of  our  national  hu- 
miliation.   This  opinion  comes  from 


86  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

a  Christian  minister  who  wishes  to 
obtain  a  welcome  in  Liverpool,  where 
operatives  are  suffering  ahnost  un- 
precedented hardships  caused  by  the 
suicidal  war  raging  in  the  States  of 
North  America,  and  which  is  being 
urged  on  by  fanatical  statesmen  and 
preachers  of  the  North!  " 

These  posters  and  notices  of  the 
press  had  so  inflamed  the  public  mind 
that  when  Mr.  Beecher  entered  the 
great  halls  in  Liverpool,  Manches- 
ter and  London,  he  had  to  face  a 
howling  mob.  When  he  arose  to 
speak,  the  tumult  and  hisses  made  it 
impossible  for  him  to  be  heard. 
Calmly  he  stood  and  faced  the  storm 
like  a  giant  oak  for  a  period  of  one 
hour  to  one  hour  and  a  half,  at  each 
one  of  these  three  great  meetings, 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  87 

before  the  audience  would  listen  to 
anything  which  he  said;  gradually 
sentence  after  sentence  began  to 
reach  them,  and  here  Mr.  Beecher 
showed  his  great  power  as  an  orator. 
He  slowly  quieted  the  mob  until  they 
listened  to  every  word  he  said,  and 
when  he  closed,  the  applause  which 
greeted  him  was  greater  than  the 
groans  and  the  howling  with  which 
he  had  been  received.  He  had  met 
the  enemy  and  conquered. 

He  had  an  easy  road  afterwards 
in  following  up  this  victory,  speak- 
ing in  different  towns  and  cities  all 
over  England,  and  everywhere  the 
people  received  him  with  respect  and 
enthusiasm.  By  degrees  he  succeeded 
in  slowly  changing  the  opinions  of 
the  people  from  favouring  the  cause 


88  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

of  the  Confederate  States  to  in- 
dorsing the  struggle  of  the  North 
for  Union  and  Liberty.  Returning 
to  LfOndon  before  sailing  for  Amer- 
ica, he  was  received  with  great  hon- 
ours by  the  most  noted  men  in  that 
city,  including  royalty.  Dinners, 
breakfasts,  and  receptions  followed 
one  another  in  quick  succession  until 
he  took  his  departure. 

Upon  his  return  home  he  was 
tendered  a  great  reception  in  the 
Academy  of  Music,  Brooklyn.  The 
people  of  the  North  had  been  watch- 
ing every  step  of  his  course  in  Eng- 
land with  deep  anxiety,  for  it  was  a 
serious  time  in  the  history  of  this  na- 
tion. The  service  which  he  rendered 
his  country  at  that  time  earned  the 
gratitude  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment and  people,  and  made  him  the 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  89 

most  popular  man  of  the  North.  I 
may  add  that  this  period  of  Mr, 
Beecher's  life  was  the  one  of  his 
greatest  power  and  influence,  and 
marked  one  of  the  greatest  epochs 
in  his  history. 


90  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 


THE  BEECHER   TRIAL 

EOLLOWING  the  Civil 
War  came  the  recon- 
struction days,  and  into 
all  those  experiences  Mr. 
Beecher  entered  with  full  energy, 
but  even  more  than  before  he  de- 
voted himself  to  his  work  as  a 
preacher  and  writer.  He  was  in 
demand  everywhere  for  addresses 
and  lectures,  as  well  as  for  articles 
from  his  pen.  Churches,  lyceums, 
theological  seminaries,  public  meet- 
ings of  all  sorts  tried  to  secure  him. 
He  took  up  editorial  work  on  the 
Christian  Union,  now  The  Outlook; 
he  gave  the  first  of  the  famous  series 
of  lectures  on  "  Preaching,"  at  Yale 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  91 

Theological  Seminary.  Indeed,  it 
seemed  as  if  he  was  ubiquitous. 
How  he  got  time  for  it  all  was  a 
marvel,  even  to  those  who  best  knew 
his  great  powers  of  endurance,  and 
his  marvellous  capacity  for  work. 
In  it  all  Plymouth  Church  never 
suffered.  Its  interests  were  his  first 
care,  and  while  it  was  never  selfish 
or  unwilling  that  others  should  share 
their  advantage,  he  was  faithful  to 
what  he  esteemed  his  first  duty. 

Thus  was  built  up  a  strength  of 
mutual  confidence,  and  affection, 
that  was  to  be  tested  in  as  severe 
a  way  as  could  well  be  imagined. 
That  the  test  was  borne  and  that 
both  pastor  and  people  came  out 
of  it,  not  merely  with  no  loss  of 
mutual  esteem  and  honour,  but  with 
the  vigour  of  church  life  unimpaired, 


92  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

indeed  strengthened,  is  but  another 
testimony  to  the  genuine  force  of 
Christian  character  in  both. 

No  survey  of  Plymouth  Church 
during  its  history  can  ignore  the 
famous  trial,  or  rather  series  of  trials, 
in  which  both  the  church  and  its  pas- 
tor were  subjected  to  an  ordeal  of 
the  severest  type.  Into  the  details 
there  is  no  necessity  of  going,  neither 
is  there  advantage  in  reviewing  argu- 
ments. The  actors  are  fast  passing 
away.  Those  now  coming  on  the 
stage  have  little  concern  with  any 
results  except  those  made  manifest 
in  the  life  of  Plymouth  Church,  and 
which  may  be  taken  as  illustrating  its 
character. 

As  for  Mr.  Beecher  himself,  he 
needs  no  vindication.  The  verdict  of 
his  city,  which  has  honoured  him  as 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  93 

it  honours  few  men,  is  sufficiently 
clear.  So  also  is  that  of  the  churches 
and  the  great  mass  of  Christian  men 
and  women  over  the  country.  He 
was  undoubtedly  indiscreet,  yet  not 
in  the  way  that  most  charged  indis- 
cretion. Open,  above  board,  frank, 
generous,  he  trusted  others,  and,  as 
Dr.  Abbott  has  said,  accepted  "  as 
true,  without  inquiry  or  investiga- 
tion, statements  which  a  man  of 
more  practical  wisdom  would  cer- 
tainly have  doubted."  Good  men 
and  true  found  it  in  many  cases  dif- 
ficult to  understand  his  course.  Those 
who  believed  in  him  can  afford  to 
await  until  the  limelight  of  the  high- 
est of  all  courts  shall  pass  its  verdict. 
Of  more  immediate  value  to  those 
interested  in  Plymouth  Church  was 
its   bearing   in   such   circumstances, 


94  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

and  the  results  as  manifested  in  its 
life.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
there  were  really  three  trials:  1.  An 
investigation  by  Plymouth  Church, 
commencing  in  June  and  closing  in 
August,  1874;  2.  A  trial  before  the 
civil  court,  from  January  5  to  July 
2,  1875,  brought  by  Mr.  Tilton  on 
the  charge  of  alienating  his  wife's 
affections;  3.  A  council  of  Congre- 
gational Churches,  called  by  Ply- 
mouth Church  to  review  its  action  in 
regard  to  its  pastor.  The  first  investi- 
gation was  presented,  in  its  method, 
evidence  and  results,  to  a  meeting  of 
the  church.  After  full  public  notice 
and  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  about 
fifteen  hundred  members,  practically 
the  entire  resident  membership,  Mr. 
Beecher  was  awarded  the  perfect 
confidence  of  the  church.     The  civil 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  95 

trial  resulted  in  a  disagreement  of 
the  jury,  but  the  chief  lawyer  for  the 
prosecution  and  the  presiding  judge 
both  publicly  affirmed  their  absolute 
conviction  in  Mr.  Beecher's  inno- 
cence. The  Council  was  the  largest 
and  most  representative  ever  known 
in  the  history  of  the  Congregational 
Churches.  Over  two  hundred  and 
forty  men  from  every  part  of  the 
country,  holding  every  phase  of 
theological  beliefs  and  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal habit,  met  together,  and  for  days 
investigated,  considered,  questioned, 
with  a  freedom  impossible  in  strictly 
legal  procedure,  and  closed  their  ses- 
sions with  formal  reaffirmation  of 
Mr.  Beecher's  innocence,  no  charge 
against  him  having  been  sustained  by 
any  proof. 
While  it  is  thus   true   that   Mr. 


96  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Beecher  and  the  church  came  forth 
triumphant,  it  was  at  heavy  cost. 
No  man  could  endure  such  a  strain 
without  showing  the  effects  of  it,  and 
Mr.  Beecher  never  recovered  the  old 
buoyancy.  In  many  ways  it  became 
evident  how  keenly  he  felt  the  trial. 
The  church  showed  the  effect  less. 
A  few,  very  few,  members  left  the 
church,  but  the  number  of  dismis- 
sions was  not  larger  than  usual; 
indeed  they  were  less  than  in  the 
previous  two  years,  and  the  church 
remained  the  more  united.  The  ad- 
missions by  letter  were  exceptionally 
large,  as  were  also  those  by  confes- 
sion of  their  faith.  More  pertinent, 
however,  than  these  evidences  of  life 
is  the  fact  that  the  entire  work  of 
the  church  suffered  no  interruption. 
Prayer    meetings,    Sunday    School, 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  97 

continued  with  usual  vigour,  and 
the  general  activities  of  the  congre- 
gation were  carried  on  as  if  there 
was  nothing  unusual  taking  place. 

It  was  this  that  aroused  the  atten- 
tion of  the  country  at  large  and  con- 
vinced many  that  the  basis  of  the 
real  power  of  Plymouth  Church  lay 
not  so  much  in  any  oratorical  gifts 
of  its  pastor,  as  in  the  substantial 
Christian  life  of  its  members.  Those 
who  could  hold  together  under  such 
a  strain  were  not  likely  to  fall  apart 
under  the  pressure  of  any  lesser  dif- 
ficulty. Undoubtedly  there  was  a 
certain  amount  of  esprit  de  corps,  a 
realisation  of  the  absolute  necessity 
of  mutual  support,  but  to  those  who 
look  back  on  those  days  it  is  still 
more  evident  that  they  felt  that 
more  than  Mr.  Beecher,  or  even  Ply- 


98  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

mouth  Church,  was  at  stake;  it  was 
the  abihty  of  a  company  of  Chris- 
tian men  and  women  to  hold  their 
faith,  and  the  expression  of  their 
faith. 

So  far  as  their  personal  interest 
and  faith  in  Mr.  Beecher  were  con- 
cerned, nothing  could  illustrate  it 
better  than  the  action  of  the  society 
in  helping  him  to  meet  the  extraor- 
dinary expense,  and  the  visit  to  his 
home  in  Peekskill  of  the  members  of 
the  three  Sunday  Schools.  While 
Mr.  Beecher  had  a  most  liberal  sal- 
ary, he  was  free  and  even  reckless 
in  expenditure.  The  result  was  that 
the  cost  of  the  trial  went  far  beyond 
his  resources.  At  its  close,  and  even 
before  he  had  had  time  to  realise 
what  that  cost  had  been,  the  society 
which  has  charge  of  the  finances  of 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  99 

the  church,  met  and  voted  that  his 
salary  for  that  year  be  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  a  great 
relief  to  him  financially,  but  still 
more  grateful  as  a  taken  of  the  love 
and  confidence  of  the  people.  Not 
less  touching  to  him  was  the  tribute 
from  the  Sunday  Schools. 

He  was  at  the  time  living  in  his 
summer  home  at  Peekskill,  N.  Y. 
Without  any  knowledge  on  his  part, 
until  the  very  day,  it  was  arranged 
by  the  teachers  and  officers  of  the 
Plymouth,  Bethel  and  Mayflower 
Schools  that  the  scholars  should  go  to 
Peekskill  to  congratulate  him  on  the 
outcome  of  the  trial,  and  emphasise 
the  feeling  of  the  church  already  ex- 
pressed in  the  salary  grant.  The 
steamer  Blackburn  was  chartered  and 
about  three  hundred  joined  in  the  ex- 


loo  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

cursion  up  the  North  River.  Mr.  R. 
D.  Jaques,  an  old,  active  and  hon- 
oured member  of  the  church,  describ- 
ing the  scene,  says  that  Mr.  Beecher 
met  them  standing  under  a  tree,  his 
hat  off  and  his  long  hair  flowing  in 
the  wind.  The  visitors  formed  in  line 
so  that  each  could  shake  his  hand. 
As  the  little  ones  came,  Mr.  Beecher 
would  lift  them  up  in  his  arms  and 
kiss  them.  Then  the  house  was 
thrown  open  and  they  were  welcomed 
to  every  part  of  it.  Refreshments 
were  provided  and  the  social  festivi- 
ties continued  until  the  time  came  to 
return.  It  was  a  happy  company 
that  sailed  down  the  river,  but  it  is 
doubtful  whether  anyone  was  hap- 
pier than  the  host,  as  he  realised  what 
the  visit  meant  of  their  love  and 
honour. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  loi 


THE  CHURCH  TESTED 

ON  March  8,  1887,  a  little 
less  than  forty  years  after 
he  had  been  called  as  pas- 
tor of  Plymouth  Church, 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  died.  The  end 
came  suddenly.  There  was  no  ling- 
ering sickness,  no  wasting  of  his  pow- 
ers. If  the  impassioned  delivery  of 
earlier  years  was  somewhat  lacking, 
there  was  still  a  power  and  vigour 
fully  as  effective.  The  year  before 
he  had  been  to  England  on  a  lec- 
ture tour  and  received  an  ovation  as 
marked  as  the  disapproval  attending 
his  first  attempts.  He  had  been  in 
demand  all  over  the  country  for  ad- 
dresses and  lectures.     The  columns 


I02  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

of  papers  and  magazines  were  every- 
where open  to  him,  and  while  it  may- 
be true  that  his  popularity  was  not 
of  the  intense  sort  that  it  had  been 
at  times,  when  he  was  almost  the  idol 
of  the  people,  it  probably  was  of  a 
more  substantial  character.  It  is 
probable,  too,  that  at  no  time  in  its 
history  had  Plymouth  Church  been 
more  closely  identified  with  him,  or 
the  opinion  been  so  prevalent  that 
neither  could  prosper  without  the 
other.  The  services  were  as  fully 
attended  as  ever,  and  church  work 
had  settled  into  the  harmonious 
routine  which  always  bodes  good 
for  a  church's  life. 

All  this  was  suddenly  broken  up. 
On  Wednesday  evening,  March  2, 
Mr.  Beecher  suffered  an  apoplectic 
stroke  and  on  the  following  Tuesday 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  103 

he  died.  No  one  who  attended  the 
services,  held  almost  continuously 
during  that  week,  can  ever  forget 
them.  The  dominant  tone  was  one 
of  the  personal  loss  of  a  friend. 
There  was  grateful  recognition  of  a 
magnificent  service  done  for  hu- 
manity, and  for  the  building  up  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  but  the  greater 
work  was  almost  lost  sight  of  in  the 
individual  remembrances,  the  per- 
sonal testimonies  to  the  man  who  had 
helped  men.  On  Sunday  of  that 
week  came  the  regular  communion 
service  of  the  church.  The  usual  ser- 
mon was  omitted  and  only  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  commemorated.  There 
were  several  evening  meetings, 
mostly  for  prayer  and  mutual  sym- 
pathy. 

The  manifestation  of  public  sym- 


I04  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

pathy  surprised  even  those  who  knew 
best  how  widespread  was  the  interest 
in  the  beloved  pastor.  As  the  coffin 
lay  in  the  church  on  Thursday  there 
was  an  unceasing  line  of  those  who 
wished  to  show  their  regard  for  him. 
On  Friday  the  funeral  services  were 
conducted  by  Rev.  Charles  H.  Hall, 
D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church,  to  which  Plymouth 
Church  had  succeeded  in  ownership 
of  its  site.  As  it  was  manifest  that 
Plymouth  Church  could  not  possibly 
hold  the  crowds  that  wanted  to  come, 
simultaneous  memorial  services  were 
held  in  other  churches.  Most  of  the 
business  houses  were  closed,  as  were 
also  the  public  offices  of  the  city  and 
the  schools.  Everywhere  there  was 
manifest  the  recognition  that  a  great 
man  had  gone. 


Lyman  Abbott 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  105 

Who  would  take  his  place?  Could 
anyone  take  his  place?  Was  it  not 
true  that  the  relations  between  him 
and  his  church  were  so  intimate,  so 
vital,  that  the  sundering  of  them  by 
his  death  would  inevitably  involve 
the  dissolution  of  the  church?  These 
were  the  questions  asked  everywhere 
by  the  public  and  probably  in  the 
consciousness  of  the  members  of  the 
church  itself,  at  least  of  a  considera- 
ble number.  Fortunately  there  was 
one  already  identified  with  the  church 
if  or  many  years,  who  had  come  to  it 
as  a  boy,  had  been  very  intimately 
associated  with  Mr.  Beecher,  and  had 
entered  most  fully  into  his  spirit  and 
life.  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  had  already 
won  for  himself  an  independent  posi- 
tion in  the  church  and  the  literary  life 
of  the  country.    Glad  to  call  himself 


io6  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

a  disciple  of  Mr.  Beecher,  he  had  been 
by  no  means  a  copyist,  and  held  his 
own  place.  Far  more  than  would 
have  been  possible  for  anyone  not  so 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  life  of 
the  church,  he  was  able  to  fill  the  gap 
at  least  for  the  time  being,  and  it 
seemed  the  natural  thing  when  he 
was  called  to  fill  the  pulpit  and  guide 
the  church  activities  until  it  could 
decide  on  some  permanent  arrange- 
ment. 

Probably  there  has  never  been  seen 
a  finer  instance  of  loyalty  to  a 
church's  best  traditions  than  the  ex- 
perience of  the  following  months. 
As  was  inevitable,  the  audiences  fell 
off  very  materially.  Still  the  church 
was  fairly  well  filled  and  for  the  first 
time  in  years  the  ushers  had  a  reason- 
ably comfortable  time.  Yet  examina- 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  107 

tion  proved  that  the  loss  was  only 
of  the  strangers.  Not  a  pewholder 
withdrew.  There  was  no  diminution 
in  the  active  work  of  the  church. 
Prayer  meetings,  Sabbath  School, 
mission  services  continued  as  before. 
Even  the  finances  did  not  suffer.  It 
was  naturally  impracticable  to  keep 
up  the  high  premiums  on  pews. 
Hitherto  the  Tuesday  evening  suc- 
ceeding the  first  Sunday  in  the  year 
had  been  a  sort  of  gala  time,  when 
loyalty  to  Plymouth  and  its  pastor 
and  good-natured  rivalry  had  com- 
bined to  bring  from  the  more  wealthy 
members  sums  mounting  into  the 
thousands  of  dollars.  The  current 
year  was  safe,  but  anticipating  the 
change  that  would  be  necessary,  the 
leaders,  indeed  practically  the  whole 
church,  renewed  their  pew  leases  at 


io8  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

the  same  figure,  so  that  there  might 
be  no  question  of  financial  disquiet 
for  the  new  pastor,  whoever  he  might 
be.  Subsequently  the  w^hole  method 
was  changed,  pew  premiums  giving 
place  to  the  envelope  system,  un- 
der which  the  church  has  prospered 
greatly. 

The  immediate  question  of  the 
conduct  of  the  church  being  solved, 
the  more  important  one  of  a  perma- 
nent successor  to  Mr.  Beecher  was 
taken  up  in  earnest.  I  do  not  think 
that  the  possibility  of  disbanding  was 
for  a  moment  present  in  the  thought 
of  any,  certainly  not  of  the  leaders. 
They  set  about  the  work  carefully 
with  a  clear  realisation  of  the  diffi- 
culties involved,  but  with  a  deter- 
mination to  succeed.  It  is  always 
difficult  to  succeed  a  man  of  great  in- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  109 

dividuality,  and  this  general  rule  was 
made  even  more  difficult  in  this  case 
by  the  peculiar  quality  of  the  per- 
sonality. The  very  intensity  of  the 
experiences  of  the  past  decade  and 
more  had  served  to  create  a  certain 
alignment,  and  search  as  they  would 
and  did,  it  was  difficult  to  find  any- 
one to  meet  all  the  conditions. 

It  was  not  unnatural  that  the  com- 
mittee in  charge,  not,  it  must  be  re- 
membered, of  choosing  a  pastor,  but 
of  recommending  one,  or  more,  for 
the  choice  of  both  church  and  society, 
should  look  beyond  the  sea.  More 
than  one  church  had  done  so  and 
with  conspicuous  success.  Broad- 
way Tabernacle  had  called  Wm.  M. 
Taylor,  and  Fifth  Avenue  Presby- 
terian, John  Hall.  Plymouth  Church, 
at  that  time  at  least,  was  not  likely  to 


no  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

look  to  Scotland,  nor  to  Ireland. 
There  was  absolutely  nothing  of  the 
Presbyterian  in  its  make-up.  It  was 
Independent,  through  and  through. 
To  the  Congregationalists  of  Eng- 
land therefore  it  must  look,  if  it  were 
to  go  beyond  its  own  immediate  fel- 
lowship. 

It  seemed  as  if  just  the  man  was 
found  in  Rev.  Charles  A.  Berry  of 
Wolverhampton.  A  friend  of  Mr. 
Beecher,  an  earnest  and  very  effect- 
ive preacher,  a  man  of  great  evan- 
gelistic power,  he  won  the  hearts  of 
Plymouth  people,  and  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  committee  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  unanimous  and  most 
urgent  call  to  him  to  become  the  pas- 
tor. How  deeply  he  appreciated, 
not  so  much  the  honour,  though  such 
he  esteemed  it,  as  the  token  of  affec- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  m 

tionate  confidence,  was  manifest  both 
in  his  correspondence  with  the  church 
and  in  the  delay  in  announcing  his 
answer.  That  he  would  have  been 
glad  to  come  is  certain,  equally  so 
that  he  felt  that  duty  to  a  work  of 
peculiar  quality  and  special  need 
called  him  to  stay  with  his  own 
people.  They  were  as  dismayed  at 
the  possibility  of  losing  him  as  Ply- 
mouth Church  would  have  been  had 
Mr.  Beecher  been  called  to  another 
pulpit. 

Mr.  Berry's  declination  of  the  call 
brought  Plymouth  Church  face  to 
to  face  with  a  most  difficult  situation, 
at  least  it  seemed  so  to  many.  In 
truth  it  was  not  so  difficult  as  it 
seemed.  Dr.  Abbott  had  filled 
the  pulpit  with  acceptance  and  had 
conducted  the  affairs  of  the  church 


112  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

with  rare  tact.  The  pastoral  work, 
which  had  for  some  years  been  prac- 
tically in  the  hands  of  Rev.  S.  B. 
Halliday,  went  on  as  usual.  Now 
that  Mr.  Berry  was  not  to  come,  who 
could  so  well  meet  the  need  as  the 
one  who  had  stood  them  in  good 
stead  in  the  time  of  stress?  It 
was  therefore  perfectly  natural  that 
thoughts  should  turn  to  Dr.  Abbott, 
and  when  they  had  once  started 
equally  natural  that  he  should  be 
called.  Accordingly,  in  the  spring  of 
1888  he  was  invited  to  be  pastor.  He 
accepted,  and  after  a  summer's  rest 
in  Europe  commenced  the  active 
work  of  the  pastorate  in  September. 

During  the  summer  months  the 
preaching  services  were  omitted,  but 
the  prayer  meetings  and  mission 
work  were  continued.     The  general 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  113 

condition  of  the  church  may  be  indi- 
cated by  the  impression  made  upon 
one  who  came  in  during  the  closing 
part  of  the  interregnum  to  take  up 
the  pastoral  work  for  a  few  months, 
dropped  by  Mr.  Halliday,  who  had 
gone  to  build  up  a  Beecher  Memorial 
Church  in  the  outskirts  of  Brooklyn. 
Coming  fresh  from  foreign  mission- 
ary service,  with  no  experience  in 
American  church  life.  Rev.  Edwin 
M.  Bliss  bears  most  earnest  testi- 
mony to  the  vigour  and  power  of  the 
church  life  of  Plymouth,  even  dur- 
ing those  months  when  many  were 
away.  Repeatedly  he  told  inquirers 
that  those  who  imagined  that  Ply- 
mouth Church  would  go  to  pieces 
were  absolutely  mistaken;  that  there 
was  evident  a  strong  church  on  a 
firm  foundation. 


114  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Truly  there  could  be  no  better 
testimony  to  the  substantial  quality 
of  Mr.  Beecher's  leadership  than  the 
experience  of  that  year  and  a  half 
of  church  life  under  such  radically 
different  conditions. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  115 


CHURCH  THOUGHT  AND 
LIFE 

LAYMAN  is  ordinarily 
not  supposed  to  trouble 
himself  very  much  about 
theology,  but  to  leave 
that  as  the  special  prerogative  of 
the  ministers.  This  was  certainly 
true  of  the  great  majority  of  the 
lay  members  of  Plymouth  Church. 
At  the  same  time  they  were  by  no 
means  indifferent  to  theology.  They 
could  not  be  so  long  as  Mr.  Beecher 
was  pastor,  and  Dr.  Abbott's  posi- 
tive opinions  on  theological  ques- 
tions, while  not  obtruded,  were  never 
hidden.  It  must  be  remembered,  too, 
that  the  constitution,  articles  of  faith 


ii6  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

and  covenant  were  drawn  up  by  lay- 
men. Henry  C.  Bo  wen  was  un- 
doubtedly the  moving  spirit,  but  the 
others  heartily  concurred.  The  arti- 
cles of  faith  were  as  follows: 

"  1.  We  believe  in  the  existence  of 
One  Ever-living  and  True  God,  Sov- 
ereign and  Unchangeable,  Infinite  in 
Power,  Wisdom  and  Goodness. 

"2.  We  believe  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  to  be 
inspired  of  God;  to  contain  a  revela- 
tion of  His  will,  and  to  be  the  au- 
thoritative rule  of  faith  and  practice. 

"3.  We  believe  that  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  re- 
vealed in  the  Scriptures  as  existing, 
in  respect  to  attributes,  character  and 
office,  as  three  Persons,  equally  Di- 
vine; while  in  other  respects  they  are 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  117 

united,  and  are,  in  a  proper  sense, 
One  God. 

"  4.  We  believe  that  our  First  Par- 
ents were  created  upright;  that  they 
fell  from  their  original  state  by  disi 
obedience,  and  that  all  their  posterity 
are  not  only  prone  to  sin,  but  do  be- 
come  sinful  and  guilty  before  God. 

"  5.  We  believe  that  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  be- 
gotten Son  to  die  for  it;  that  Christ 
appeared  in  the  flesh;  that  He  set 
forth  a  perfect  example  of  obedi- 
ence; that  He  purely  taught  the 
truths  needful  for  our  salvation ;  that 
He  suffered  in  our  stead,  the  just  for 
the  unjust;  that  He  died  to  atone  for 
our  sins,  and  to  purify  us  therefrom ; 
and  that  He  rose  from  the  dead  and 
ascended  into  heaven,  where  He  ever 
liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us. 


ii8  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

"6.  We  believe  that  God  offers 
full  forgiveness  and  everlasting  life 
to  all  who  will  heartily  repent  and 
believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ; 
while  those  who  do  not  believe,  but 
persevere  in  sin,  shall  finally  perish. 

"  7.  We  believe  in  the  resurrection 
of  all  the  dead ;  in  a  final  and  general 
judgment,  upon  the  awards  of  which 
the  wicked  shall  go  into  everlasting 
punishment  and  the  righteous  into 
life  eternal." 

These  were  adopted  by  the  church 
as  they  stand  on  April  17,  1848,  by  a 
rising  vote.  They  represent  the  plat- 
form on  which  Mr.  Beecher  accepted 
the  pastorate  of  the  church,  and  have 
remained  essentially  the  doctrinal 
basis  of  the  church  under  the  pastor- 
ates of  Dr.  Abbott  and  Dr.  HiUis. 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  119 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  in  gen- 
eral the  position  of  Plymouth  Church 
was  essentially  that  of  the  New  Eng- 
land churches,  and  when,  after  being 
trained  in  orthodox  Windsor,  Conn., 
I  came  to  Brooklyn,  I  found  myself 
in  much  the  same  atmosphere.  At 
the  same  time  there  was  nothing  hide- 
bound. There  was  no  attempt  to 
draw  lines  too  tight;  indeed,  there 
was  little  drawing  of  lines.  Prin- 
ciples were  stated,  and  applied.  De- 
scription took  the  place  of  defini- 
tion. 

One  result  was  the  intensifying  of 
certain  convictions,  and  of  these  the 
chief  was  that  the  test  of  belief  was 
the  life.  Mr.  Beecher's  breadth  of 
sympathy  on  all  public  questions, 
manifested  particularly  in  the  slav- 
ery discussion,  came  out  if  possible 


I20  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

more  clearly  in  regard  to  doctrinal 
matters.  He  made  it  a  principle  to 
seek  for  the  best  in  every  man,  and 
was  very  loath  to  believe  evil  of  any- 
one. So  when  men  differed  from 
him  in  theology  his  tendency  always 
was  to  seek  for  the  truth  that  was 
contained  in  that  view,  and  give  it 
all  possible  emphasis.  In  his  preach- 
ing he  did  not  feel  obliged  to  guard 
himself  against  every  possible  mis- 
conception, and  would  speak  on  a 
topic  or  present  a  truth,  as  if  for  the 
moment  at  least,  that  was  the  one 
topic,  the  one  truth,  to  be  con- 
sidered. The  result  was  that  he  was 
claimed  by  very  nearly  every  denom- 
ination in  the  country.  When  this 
was  done  by  Universalists  or  Uni- 
tarians, the  old-line  Congregation- 
alists  were  troubled,  and  Presbyteri- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  121 

ans  thanked  God  that  they  could  not 
be  held  responsible  for  his  views. 

When  Dr.  Abbott  became  pastor 
the  same  condition  continued,  per- 
haps emphasised,  as  Dr.  Abbott  is 
broader  in  his  theology  than  Mr. 
Beecher  ever  was,  while  still  preserv- 
ing Mr.  Beecher's  general  attitude 
toward  divergent  beliefs.  Under 
Dr.  Hillis  theological  matters  are 
subordinated  to  general  aggressive 
church  work,  although  now  as  always 
there  is  the  most  cordial  welcome  to 
all  of  every  form  of  Christian  state- 
ment who  emphasise  Christian  life. 

The  effect  of  all  this  upon  the 
church  itself,  in  its  membership,  has 
been  to  make  it  exceedingly  liberal. 
Men  are  taken  for  what  they  are,  not 
for  what  they  believe,  and  this  prin- 
ciple accepted  in  one  respect  is  easily 


122  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

extended  to  others.  It  would  be  a 
mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that 
broadness  of  theology  is  the  same 
thing  as  looseness  of  doctrinal  be- 
lief. 

Plymouth  Church  is  loyal  to  the 
faith  in  which  it  was  born  and  nur- 
tured, and  there  are  not  a  few  who  do 
not  accept  many  of  the  forms  of 
statement  current  to-day.  They  do 
not  therefore  condemn  those  who  do, 
realising  that  the  very  principle  of 
intellectual  independence,  which  has 
always  been  so  powerful  an  element 
in  the  church  life,  inevitably  involves 
difference  of  opinion.  Many  who 
might  not  accept  all  Dr.  Abbott's 
views  have  received  great  benefit 
from  his  preaching,  emphasising,  as 
he  always  has,  life  rather  than  doc- 
trine. 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  123 

In  its  ecclesiastical  organisation 
and  relations  Plymouth  Church  was 
thoroughly  independent,  scarcely 
even  Congregational.  Rule  1  of  its 
ecclesiastical  principles  says :  "  This 
church  is  an  independent  ecclesiasti- 
cal body;  and  in  matters  of  doctrine, 
order  and  discipline  is  amenable  to 
no  other  organisation."  It  did  not 
propose  to  stand  absolutely  alone, 
however,  as  is  shown  from  Rule  2: 
"  This  church  will  extend  to  other 
evangelical  churches,  and  receive 
from  them,  that  fellowship,  advice 
and  assistance  which  the  laws  of 
Christ  require."  In  its  general  cus- 
toms, as  to  membership,  ordinances, 
meetings,  etc.,  it  conformed  to  those 
of  the  Congregational  churches,  with 
which  those  who  were  its  first  mem- 
bers had  been  connected,  and  when  it 


124  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

installed  its  first  pastor,  as  in  each 
succeeding  instance,  it  called  in  the 
Congregational  churches  to  assist. 
So  also  in  its  time  of  greatest  stress 
it  recognised  the  obligations  of  its 
fellowship  with  the  Congregational 
churches  by  calling  the  largest  Con- 
gregational council  ever  convened  in 
America.  At  the  same  time,  if  it 
seemed  to  it  right  and  wise  to  em- 
phasise the  broader  fellowship  with 
those  of  other  faith  it  did  so,  whether 
Congregationalists  at  large  liked  it 
or  not.  So  in  its  benevolences,  it 
gave  where  it  chose.  If  it  liked  to 
give  through  the  medium  of  w^hat 
were  known  as  the  Congregational 
Societies,  it  did;  if  it  didn't  like  to,  it 
didn't.  Every  once  in  a  while  from 
some  source,  near  or  more  remote, 
generally  more  remote,  protest  would 


PLY  MOUTH  CHURCH  125 

come  that  Mr.  Beecher  and  his 
church  were  not  carrying  their  full 
share  of  denominational  burdens; 
there  was  courteous  attention,  but  a 
very  definite  giving  to  understand 
that  the  church  would  do  as  it 
thought  best. 

The  independence  of  the  organisa- 
tion manifested  itself  in  individuals. 
Those  who  wished  their  gifts  to  go 
through  a  certain  channel  were  per- 
fectly at  liberty  to  send  them  there, 
and  no  one  felt  aggrieved  because 
others  did  not  see  their  way  clear  to 
do  the  same. 

Another  eifect,  both  of  the  eccle- 
siastical independence  and  the  broad 
humanitarian  theology,  was  mani- 
fest in  the  social  life,  to  which  refer- 
ence has  been  made  many  times,  not 
too  often  however,  for  it  was  and  is 


126  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

one  of  the  chief  features  of  Ply- 
mouth life. 

In  the  northeast  corner  of  what  is 
now  the  Sunday  School  room  were  lo- 
cated the  social  parlours.  They  were 
handsomely  furnished,  and  there 
every  Monday  evening  Mr.  Beecher 
held  an  informal  reception,  when  all 
members  of  the  church  or  congrega- 
tion were  cordially  welcomed.  The 
prominent  members  of  the  church 
were  present,  including  such  men  as 
Messrs.  Howard,  Bo  wen,  Claflin, 
Sage,  Storrs,  Freeland,  Wheelock, 
Fanning,  Mason,  Caldwell,  Ropes, 
Southwick,  Murray,  Leckler,  Sloat, 
Corning,  Hutchinson,  Burgess,  Dr. 
Morrill  Studwell  and  others,  and  this 
was  often  an  opportunity  to  welcome 
distinguished  visitors.  One  such  oc- 
casion I  remember  well,  when  a  large 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  127 

number  of  distinguished  people  gath- 
ered to  welcome  Mr.  Beecher's  sister, 
Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe.  She 
had  just  returned  from  England, 
where  she  had  been  introduced  to 
Queen  Victoria  as  the  first  American 
authoress ;  the  papers  had  announced 
that  two  million  copies  of  her  book, 
"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  had  been  sold, 
and  the  congratulations  and  social 
enjoyment  were  great. 

The  same  characteristics  that  dis- 
tinguished the  regular  church  life 
were  manifest  in  all  its  departments, 
as  the  Sunday  School  and  Bible 
classes.  In  all  there  was  free  play 
for  individual  ideas  and  development. 
One  Bible  class  in  particular  I  would 
mention,  that  conducted  for  many 
years  by  Mr.  Wilbur,  and  which  had 
more  than  one  hundred  members.    In 


128  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

a  variety  of  ways,  by  freedom  of  dis- 
cussion in  the  class,  by  excursions, 
receptions,  entertainments  of  various 
kinds,  it  bound  the  young  people  to- 
gether, helped  greatly  to  build  up  the 
church,  and  particularly  contributed 
to  its  social  life.  How  firmly  it  was 
established  is  witnessed  by  the  fact 
that  it  has  never  weakened,  even  in 
the  changes  that  have  come  in  the 
membership,  or  the  official  direction 
of  the  church.  With  three  pastors  so 
different  in  many  respects  as  Mr. 
Beecher,  Dr.  Abbott  and  Dr.  Hillis, 
there  has  been  no  difference  in  the 
general  type  of  church  life. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  129 


THE   CHURCH  STAFF 

XT  is  only  of  recent  years 
that  the  Congregational 
and  Presbyterian  churches 
have  come  to  include  in 
the  regular  staff  of  church  officers, 
assistant  pastors  or  pastor's  assist- 
ants. For  a  long  time  Mr.  Beecher 
and  Plymouth  Church  followed  the 
prevailing  custom,  relying  upon  vol- 
unteer service  for  such  extra  work  in 
the  Hne  of  parish  visitation  as  was  be- 
yond the  pastor's  power.  As  the 
church  grew,  however,  and  as  the  de- 
mands upon  its  pastor  for  outside 
work  in  the  form  of  public  ad- 
dresses, lectures,  etc.,  increased,  it 
became  evident  that  something  must 


I30  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

be  done  to  meet  the  emergency.  For- 
tunately, just  the  right  man  was 
found.  Rev.  S.  B.  Halliday  had  seen 
considerable  service  in  mission  work 
in  New  York  City,  was  a  man  of 
genial  character,  great  sympathy, 
kindhearted,  and  painstaking  in  the 
performance  of  his  duties.  He  came 
to  Brooklyn  in  1870  and  remained 
there  in  pastoral  duty  until  after  Mr. 
Beecher's  death.  His  work  was 
chiefly  among  the  poorer  class,  but 
there  were  many  families  of  means 
that  welcomed  him  to  their  homes. 
Perhaps  the  one  word  that  best  ex- 
presses the  impression  that  he  left  on 
those  who  knew  him  best,  is — godly. 
He  was  a  good  man,  one  who  in  life 
and  thought  lived  near  God.  Mr. 
Beecher  thoroughly  appreciated  him, 
and  he  idolised  Mr.  Beecher.    It  was 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  131 

scarcely  surprising  that  when  Mr. 
Beecher  died  he  should  find  it  hard 
to  adapt  himself  to  changed  condi- 
tions. He  had  hoped  that  Mr.  Berry- 
would  accept  the  call  to  the  pastorate, 
but  when  that  failed,  he  resigned  his 
position  and  went  into  East  New 
York,  then  on  the  outskirts  of  Brook- 
lyn, where  he  took  charge  of  a  weak 
Congregational  Church.  It  was  due 
to  him  that  the  name  "  The  Beecher 
Memorial  Church  "  was  given  to  it, 
and  it  was  significant  of  the  honour 
in  which  both  Mr.  Beecher  and  Mr. 
Halliday  were  held  that  men  of 
every  form  of  faith.  Christian  and 
non- Christian,  and  from  many  dif- 
ferent countries,  contributed  toward 
the  building  which  was  erected  a  few 
years  later.  When  Mr.  Halliday 
died  it  was  like  the  severing  of  an- 


132  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

other  link  of  the  chain  binding  Mr. 
Beecher  to  the  Christian  life  of 
Brooklyn. 

When  Dr.  Abbott  became  pastor 
the  question  of  an  assistant  came  up 
again.  At  first  Dr.  Abbott  was  un- 
willing to  have  one,  but  as  the  neces- 
sity became  more  apparent,  and  also 
as  there  appeared  one  who  seemed  in 
every  way  fitted  for  the  work,  Rev. 
Howard  S.  Bliss  was  called  and  com- 
menced his  duties  soon  after  Dr. 
Abbott  was  installed.  The  son  of  the 
well-known  founder  of  the  Syrian 
Protestant  College  at  Beirut,  Syria, 
a  man  of  pleasing  ways,  tact  in  deal- 
ing with  people,  and  a  fine  speaker, 
he  won  the  most  cordial  regard  and 
affections  of  the  church  people.  He 
remained  for  many  years,  through 
Dr.  Abbott's  pastorate,  leaving  Ply- 


Xewell  Dwight  Hillis 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  133 

mouth  only  to  take  the  pastorate  of 
a  flourishing  church  in  New  Jersey, 
whose  traditions  made  it  easy  for  one 
naturally  sympathetic  with  and 
trained  in  the  liberal  yet  practical 
and  aggressive  atmosphere  of  Ply- 
mouth Church,  to  develop  a  vigorous 
church  life.  Mr.  Bliss  has  since  been 
called  to  the  presidency  of  the  col- 
lege at  Beirut  to  take  up  the  work 
as  it  was  laid  down  by  his  aged 
father. 

During  Dr.  Hillis'  pastorate  there 
have  been  two  assistant  pastors.  Revs. 
Willard  P.  Harmon  and  George  J. 
Corey.  Both  have  well  sustained  the 
traditions  of  the  church,  have  made 
themselves  many  friends,  and  have 
done  much  to  develop  the  newer  life 
which  under  changed  conditions  has 
become   a   necessity.     Mr.    Harmon 


134  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

left  to  enter  the  full  pastorate.    Mr. 
Corey  is  the  present  assistant. 

Comparatively  few  who  are  not 
themselves  directly  connected  with 
the  business  affairs  of  a  church  prob- 
ably realise  how  much  of  the  orderly 
conduct  of  the  church  depends  upon 
the  sexton.  To  many  people  he  is 
simply  the  man  who  looks  after  fu- 
nerals, sees  that  the  furnace  fires  are 
properly  managed,  the  church  swept, 
etc.  In  Plymouth  Church  the  sexton 
was  always  a  man  of  considerable  im- 
portance, and  I  feel  it  a  duty  which 
I  owe  to  the  church,  not  less  than  to 
them,  to  speak  of  their  faithful  work. 
Not  only  have  they  conducted  the 
ordinary  duties  of  a  sexton,  but  have 
acted  in  a  clerical  capacity  to  the 
board  of  trustees  in  collecting  pew 
rents,  and  in  other  business  of  the 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  135 

church.  In  this  they  have  had  a  most 
important  share  in  the  comfort  of  the 
congregation  and  the  success  of  the 
church. 

Plymouth  Church  has  been  in 
charge  of  five  different  sextons  dur- 
ing its  existence.  Mr.  McFarlane 
was  its  caretaker  in  its  early  years. 
Owing  to  his  bluff  manner  he  was 
never  very  popular  with  the  young 
people,  and  one  instance  I  shall  never 
forget.  One  evening  Charles 
Dickens  was  to  lecture  in  the  church. 
As  the  price  of  the  tickets  was  from 
one  to  two  dollars,  there  were  not 
many  of  the  boys  at  that  time  who 
could  afford  to  pay  it.  We  were 
bound  not  to  be  left  out,  so  a  plan 
was  devised  to  overcome  the  difficulty. 
Accordingly  we  perched  ourselves  on 
a  window-sill  outside,  where  by  rais- 


136  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

ing  the  sash  slightly  we  could  hear 
and  see  the  lecturer.  All  went  well 
for  a  time  and  we  were  congratulat- 
ing ourselves,  when  the  old  sexton 
discovered  us.  Then  there  was  a 
scampering  up  Orange  and  down 
Henry  to  Fulton  Street  with  McFar- 
lane  close  after.  I  was  one  of  the 
unfortunate  boys  who  were  caught, 
and  the  pounding  which  I  received 
made  such  an  impression  upon  me 
that  I  can  see  and  hear  Charles 
Dickens  to  this  day. 

After  Mr.  McFarlane  came  Mr. 
Weld,  who  was  the  sexton  for  many 
years,  during  the  most  exciting 
period  of  the  church's  history,  and 
when  it  was  thronged  by  the  greatest 
crowds.  Mr.  Weld  was  faithful  to  his 
trust,  never  ruffled,  kind  to  everyone 
and  popular  with  all,  and  remained  at 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  137 

his  post  until  old  age  and  sickness 
called  him  away.  His  funeral  was 
large,  attended  by  a  great  number  of 
the  members  of  the  church.  When 
his  body  was  carried  do^Mi  the  aisle 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beecher,  arm  in  arm, 
headed  the  mournful  procession.  If 
some  great  artist  could  have  trans- 
ferred the  scene  to  canvas  and 
called  it  the  funeral  of  the  old  sexton, 
it  could  have  taken  its  place  among 
the  other  great  paintings  of  church 
history. 

Mr.  George  Day,  one  of  the  oldest 
members  of  the  church  and  who  is 
still  living,  followed  Mr.  Weld,  but 
remained  in  office  only  two  years,  be- 
ing succeeded  by  Mr.  Smith,  w^ho 
filled  the  position  for  a  long  time  in  a 
most  acceptable  manner.  After  him 
came  Mr.  Charles  T.  Halsey,  who  has 


138  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

charge  at  the  present  time.  I  wish 
especially  to  mention  my  obligations 
to  him  for  assistance  in  verifying 
names  and  dates. 

In  close  relation  to  the  pastors  and 
assistant  pastors  have  been  the  clerks 
of  the  church.  Perhaps  the  one  who 
attained  the  widest  fame  in  this  ca- 
pacity was  Mr.  Thomas  G.  Shear- 
man, whose  term  of  service  was  long 
and  included  the  period  of  the  trials. 
At  the  ecclesiastical  council  he  made 
his  knowledge  of  Congregational 
polity  and  history  very  manifest,  and 
contributed  not  a  little  to  the  con- 
vincing of  the  churches  of  the  denom- 
ination that  Plymouth  Church,  while 
standing  firm  in  its  independency, 
was  yet  willing  and  glad  to  recognise 
to  the  full  the  fellowship  of  other 
churches,  and  desirous  of  doing  all 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  139 

that  it  might  to  make  that  fellowship 
cordial.  The  present  clerk,  Horatio 
C.  King,  is  but  another  illustration 
of  how  men  of  ability  and  position 
have  delighted  to  serve  Plymouth. 

The  Sunday  School  has  always 
been  a  most  important  part  of  Ply- 
mouth Church,  and  the  list  of  super- 
intendents shows  how  it  has  been 
regarded  by  all.  At  the  first  organ- 
isation Mr.  Bowen  was  made  super- 
intendent, on  September  5,  1847, 
with  an  attendance  of  ten  teachers 
and  twenty-eight  scholars.  The  fol- 
lowing May  there  were  twenty-five 
teachers  and  one  hundred  and  forty 
scholars,  and  twenty  years  later,  in 
1867,  the  attendance  was  considerably 
over  one  thousand.  Mr.  Bowen  was 
followed  by  Luther  Eames,  Edward 
Corning,  Henry  E.  Morrill,  George 


I40  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

E.  Bell,  Rossiter  W.  Raymond,  and 
George  W.  Bard  well,  who  is  now  in 
charge. 

My  own  recollections  centre  par- 
ticularly about  Dr.  Morrill,  during 
whose  service  of  ten  years,  from  1851 
to  1861,  I  became  a  member  of  the 
school.  All  have  done  noble  service. 
Professor  Raymond  has  perhaps 
been  specially  successful.  His  clear 
thought,  simple  expression,  hearty 
sympathy,  great  personal  tact,  have 
endeared  him  to  all,  teachers  and 
scholars,  and  done  much  to  build  up 
the  school  and  church. 

To  speak  of  the  deacons  and  trus- 
tees would  be  simply  to  repeat  the 
names  of  those  already  mentioned  as 
prominent  in  the  work  of  the  church, 
for  on  one  or  the  other  of  these 
boards  very  nearly  all  have  served  at 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  141 

some  time.  It  has  been,  too,  no  mere 
formal  service.  Men  of  high  position 
in  business  and  professional  life  have 
given  freely  of  time  and  labour  to 
serve  the  interests  of  the  church. 

JNIention  should  be  made  of  the 
Bethel  and  INIayflower  Missions.  The 
Bethel  Mission  School  was  estab- 
lished in  1841,  in  Main  Street,  near 
the  Catherine  Ferry,  then  to  rooms 
above  the  market  on  James  Street, 
then  to  42  and  44  Fulton  Street. 
Almost  as  soon  as  Plymouth  Church 
was  formed  its  members  interested 
themselves  in  the  school,  but  there 
was  no  official  relation  until  1866, 
when  it  was  voted  to  adopt  the  school 
as  one  of  the  regular  institutions  of 
the  church.  This  was  accepted  by 
the  school,  and  the  connection  contin- 
ued until  1904,  when  it  was  dropped. 


142  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 


THE    FORT    SUMTER 
EXPEDITION 

^  H^HEN  it  became  evident 
W  I  ^  that  the  North  had  won 
\M^^  the  victory  and  that  the 
defeat  of  the  Confederacy 
was  at  hand,  President  Lincoln  de- 
cided to  celebrate  the  event  by  re- 
placing the  same  old  flag  that  had 
waved  over  Fort  Sumter  before  the 
war  had  commenced,  and  had  been 
lowered  on  the  14th  of  April,  1861, 
after  a  brave  struggle  by  Major  An- 
derson, only  when  compelled  to  do  so 
by  the  guns  of  General  Beauregard. 
By  the  President's  order,  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  directed  that  on  "  April 
14th,  1865,  at  twelve  o'clock  noon, 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  143 

Major  General  Anderson  will  raise 
and  plant  upon  the  ruins  of  Fort 
Sumter,  in  Charleston  harbour,  the 
same  United  States  flag  which  floated 
over  the  battlements  of  that  fort  dur- 
ing the  Rebel  assault  four  years 
previous."  At  the  request  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  Mr.  Beecher  was  invited  to 
deliver  the  oration  upon  that  occa- 
sion. As  soon  as  it  became  known 
that  he  had  accepted,  a  large  number 
of  his  friends  wished  to  go  with  him, 
but  how  to  get  there  was  the  problem. 
The  Arago,  the  government  steamer, 
was  full,  and  all  the  other  steamers 
available  had  been  chartered  by  the 
government  for  service  in  the  war. 
After  a  diligent  search  it  was  found 
that  the  Neptune  Steamship  Com- 
pany would  take  one  of  their  pro- 
pellers, running  between  New  York 


144  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

and  Providence,  off  the  route,  and 
charter  it  for  a  party. 

A  committee  was  formed  consist- 
ing of  ]Mr.  Edward  Gary,  editor  of 
the  Brooklyn  Union,  Mr.  Edwin  A. 
Studwell  and  myself  as  chairman. 
The  steamship  company  agreed  to 
carry  one  hundred  and  eighty  pas- 
sengers for  the  sum  of  eighteen 
thousand  dollars,  which  I  paid  them, 
the  trip  to  be  made  in  nine  days. 

As  soon  as  all  the  arrangements 
were  completed,  Mr.  Beecher  an- 
nounced the  program  from  the  pulpit 
and  through  the  press.  Nearly  all 
the  prominent  clergymen  and  citizens 
of  Brooklyn  applied  for  tickets.  It 
became  necessary  to  refuse  a  large 
number,  as  the  steamer  could  not  ac- 
commodate more  than  one  hundred 
and  eighty  people.     On  the  10th  of 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  i45 

April,  1865,  we  left  the  foot  of  Wall 
Street  in  one  of  the  Fulton  Ferry- 
boats, which  had  been  kindly  offered 
to  take  the  party  to  the  Oceanus,  ly- 
ing at  the  foot  of  Robinson  Street, 
New  York.  A  more  patriotic  party 
never  left  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  All 
the  way  to  Charleston,  those  who 
were  not  seasick  (for  the  steamer 
rolled  fearfully)  were  engaged  in 
holding  meetings  and  singing  patri- 
otic songs.  Speeches  were  made  by 
the  clergymen,  including  Messrs. 
Cuyler,  Putman,  Gallagher,  Chad- 
wick,  Corning,  French  and  others; 
also  by  prominent  citizens  of  Brook- 
lyn, including  Messrs.  Low,  Bo  wen, 
Smith,  Lambert,  Frothingham  and 
others.  The  singing  was  led  by  Mr. 
Bradbury,  while  among  the  songs 
were  "  We  are  out  on  the  ocean  sail- 


146  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

ing,"  "  Jolin  Brown's  Soul  is  March- 
ing on,"  "  We'll  Hang  JefF  Davis  to 
a  Sour  Apple  Tree."  Arriving  at 
Charleston  Bar  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  13th  of  April  we  passed  into  the 
harbour,  and  as  we  went  by;  Fort 
Sumter  the  entire  company  assem- 
bled upon  the  upper  deck  and  sang 
"  Old  Hundred." 

Just  before  the  Oceanus  left  the 
dock  in  New  York  we  received  a  des- 
patch from  the  Secretary  of  War, 
Edwin  M.  Stanton,  that  Lee  with 
his  entu-e  army  had  surrendered  to 
Grant.  Our  steamer  was  the  first 
one  to  carry  the  news  of  Lee's  sur- 
render to  the  people  of  the  South.  As 
the  Oceanus  slowly  neared  the  dock 
at  Charleston,  we  could  see  the  shores 
were  lined  with  people,  and  as  we 
came  within  hailing  distance,   Cap- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  147 

tain  Young  shouted  through  his 
trumpet,  "Lee  has  surrendered!" 
At  once  there  went  up  a  mighty  shout 
from  that  black  mass — it  was  Hke  the 
roar  of  Niagara.  "  God  bless  Massa 
Lincoln  1 "  could  be  heard  above  the 
din,  then  came  "  My  country,  'tis  of 
thee,"  "Hail  Columbia,"  sung  as 
only  coloured  people  can  sing.  The 
band  on  the  Blackstone,  which  was 
anchored  near,  played  "  The  Star- 
Spangled  Banner,"  and  in  the  even- 
ing all  the  men-of-war  in  the  harbour 
were  illuminated  to  celebrate  the 
news  of  the  victory. 

The  next  morning  all  was  bustle 
and  activity,  getting  ready  to  go 
down  to  the  fort,  and  every  available 
sailing  craft  was  brought  into  service 
to  carry  the  people  of  Charleston  to 
the  ceremonies  of  the  day.    At  eleven 


148  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

o'clock  we  were  assembled  inside  the 
walls  of  Sumter,  as  distinguished  a 
gathering  as  ever  assembled  since  the 
signing  of  The  Declaration  of  Inde- 
]3endence.  High  officers  of  the  Army 
and  Navy,  United  States  Senators, 
members  of  Congress,  officers  of  the 
Government,  clergymen  and  distin- 
guished citizens  from  all  over  the 
United  States,  and  a  number  from 
England. 

At  the  hour  of  noon  Major  An- 
derson, who  had  been  a  long  time  in 
feeble  health,  came  upon  the  plat- 
form. Sergeant  Hart  took  from  a 
mail-pouch  the  old  flag  and  fastened 
it  to  the  halyards.  Major  Anderson, 
taking  hold  of  the  rope,  said,  "  I 
thank  God  that  I  have  lived  to  see 
this  day  and  perform  probably  the 
last  act  of  duty  of  my  life  for  my 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  149 

country."  (He  died  soon  after.)  As 
he  slowly  raised  the  flag  over  the 
ruined  walls  of  the  fort,  from  Forts 
Moultrie,  Ripley,  Pickney,  Putnam 
and  Johnson,  Cummings  Point  and 
Battery  B,  and  from  every  United 
States  gunboat  in  the  harbour  there 
broke  forth  a  mighty  salute.  The 
thunder  of  the  cannon  fairly  shook 
the  earth  and  the  clouds  of  smoke  en- 
veloped the  fort  in  almost  midnight 
darkness.  When  they  rolled  away 
Old  Glory  waved  peacefully  as 
though  it  had  never  been  fired  upon 
by  rebel  cannon.  The  audience  sang 
"  Victory  at  last." 

Mr.  Beecher  came  forward  to  the 
front  of  the  platform  to  deliver  the 
oration.  There  was  a  cold  wind 
blowing  in  from  the  sea,  the  wind 
playing  havoc  with  the  leaves  of  his 


I50  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

manuscript.  As  he  commenced  he 
took  off  his  hat,  but  immediately 
arose  the  cry,  "  Put  on  your  hat,  Mr. 
Beecher."  He  obeyed  and  went  on 
with  his  address,  holding  the  close  at- 
tention of  everyone  for  over  an  hour. 
It  has  taken  its  place  in  the  history 
of  memorable  addresses  delivered  on 
great  occasions.  The  history  of  the 
country  will  place  it  second  to  none 
among  the  most  patriotic  and  able 
orations. 

The  next  two  or  three  days  were 
spent  in  and  about  Charleston,  visit- 
ing the  scenes  of  desolation  caused  by 
the  war.  The  only  carriages  to  be 
had  were  donkey  carts.  It  was  a 
usual  sight  to  see  George  Thompson 
of  England  and  Charles  Sumner 
jogging  along,  or  William  Lloyd 
Garrison    and    Senator   Wilson   to- 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  151 

gether,  Henry  Ward  Beecher  and 
Fred  Douglass  in  a  donkey  cart 
driven  by  a  former  slave.  Mass  meet- 
ings were  held  in  the  abandoned 
churches  and  public  buildings  of  the 
city,  mostly  attended  by  the  coloured 
people. 

On  the  third  day  the  Oceamis 
passed  out  of  Charleston  harbour, 
saluted  by  all  the  ships  and  forts. 
The  flag  on  Sumter  was  dipped  as 
we  passed  by;  all  went  well  until  we 
rounded  Cape  Hatteras  and  were 
bearing  into  Fortress  Monroe.  Pass- 
ing a  pilot  boat,  the  captain  shouted, 
"  What's  the  news?  "  The  reply  came 
back  over  the  water,  "  The  President 
is  dead."  We  could  not  and  did  not 
believe  it.  Soon  after,  passing  an- 
other pilot  boat,  to  a  similar  question 
the  answer  came,  "  Mr,  Lincoln  has 


152  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

been  assassinated."  Then  we  realised 
the  truth.  With  saddened  hearts  we 
sailed  up  to  Fortress  Monroe,  which 
was  already  draped  in  black.  Here 
our  party  separated,  some  coming  di- 
rect to  New  York,  the  rest  going  to 
Washington  to  take  part  in  the  cere- 
monies attending  the  funeral  of  Mr. 
Lincoln. 

I  have  spoken  more  fully  of  the 
Sumter  excursion  because  it  was  an 
important  national  event,  and  be- 
cause it  was  so  closely  identified  with 
Plymouth  Church  and  Brooklyn.  If 
it  had  not  been  for  Mr.  Beecher  there 
would  have  been  no  Oceanus  voyage. 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  153 


QUAKER    CITY  EXCURSION 

^^^^HE  plan  of  the  Quaker 
M  ^1  City  Excursion,  made  f a- 
^^^^^  mous  by  Mark  Twain, 
originated  in  Plymouth 
Church,  when  Mr.  Beecher  contem- 
plated writing  a  Life  of  Christ.  He 
expressed  a  desire  to  visit  the  sacred 
places  of  Palestine,  where  our  Lord 
lived  and  where  He  was  crucified,  and 
wanted  several  members  of  Plymouth 
Church  to  go  with  him.  A  committee 
was  formed  to  arrange  for  the  jour- 
ney, composed  of  Captain  C.  Dun- 
can, John  T.  Howard  and  Rufus  R. 
Graves.  A  very  beautiful  and  sub- 
stantial side-wheel  steamship,  the 
Quaker  City,  was  chartered  for  the 


154  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

journey,  and  the  number  of  passen- 
gers was  limited  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  The  price  of  the  passage  for 
each  person  was  fixed  at  twelve  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  Mr.  Beecher 
engaged  passage,  but  at  the  last  mo- 
ment decided  not  to  go. 

The  Secretary  of  State  furnished 
us  with  letters  commending  us  to  the 
attention  of  the  foreign  govern- 
ments which  we  might  visit,  and  on 
the  eighth  day  of  June  we  sailed  out 
of  New  York  harbour.  Our  first  stop- 
ping place  was  at  the  Azores,  then 
we  went  to  Gibraltar  and  Marseilles, 
where  time  was  given  to  the  passen- 
gers to  visit  Paris  and  London;  next 
to  Genoa,  from  which  port  we  made 
visits  to  Milan,  Venice  and  Lake 
Como.  The  next  stopping  place  was 
Leghorn,  where  we  turned  aside  to 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  155 

Florence  and  Pisa  and  visited  Gari- 
baldi, who  was  then  at  his  home. 
From  Leghorn  our  course  took  us  to 
Naples,  giving  time  to  see  Rome,  Ve- 
suvius and  Pompeii ;  then  on  through 
the  Straits  of  Messina,  across  the 
Ionian  Sea,  through  the  Grecian 
Archipelago  to  Athens,  Greece; 
through  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Sea 
of  Marmora  to  Constantinople. 
After  one  week's  stay  in  that  Orien- 
tal city,  the  route  lay  through  the  Bos- 
phorus,  across  the  Black  Sea  to  Se- 
bastopol.  After  visiting  the  famous 
battlefields  of  the  Crimea,  we  sailed 
to  Odessa,  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  Black  Sea,  ours  being  the  first 
American  steamship  which  ever  en- 
tered that  harbour.  While  staying 
there  a  telegram  was  received  from 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  inviting  us 


156  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

to  visit  him  at  his  palace,  Livadia,  at 
Yalta.  Yalta  is  a  very  beautiful 
place  on  the  slope  of  a  mountain, 
overlooking  the  Black  Sea,  about  two 
hundred  miles  east  of  Odessa,  and  is 
the  summer  home  of  the  imperial 
family  of  Russia.  The  Grand  Duke 
Michael's  palace,  Orianda,  the  Grand 
Duke  Vladimir's,  Worondow,  and 
their  grounds  join  those  of  the  Em- 
peror. The  invitation  was  accepted. 
Mrs.  Griswold's  story  of  the  visit  as 
given  in  the  "  Pilgrimage "  is  as 
follows : 

"  On  the  way  from  Odessa  to 
Yalta,  several  meetings  were  held  by 
the  gentlemen  in  the  saloon  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  an  address  to 
be  presented  to  the  Czar ;  at  the  same 
time    the    ladies    were    gathered    in 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  157 

groups  conversing  about  the  coming 
event. 

"  This  morning  we  dropped  an- 
chor at  Yalta.  The  Governor-gen- 
eral conveyed  to  us  a  message  from 
the  Emperor  *  that  we  were  welcome, 
and  he  would  be  pleased  to  receive  us 
the  next  day  at  twelve  o'clock.'  Word 
also  came  that  carriages  and  horses 
would  be  in  readiness  to  convey  the 
party  to  the  palace,  which  is  about 
two  miles  from  the  landing  place. 

"  All  was  astir  on  board  preparing 
for  the  great  occasion.  The  porters 
are  overtaxed  in  getting  out  the 
stored-away  trunks  for  the  passen- 
gers, as  the  most  recherche  ward- 
robes must  be  selected.  The  ladies' 
purchases  through  Europe  are  now 
brought  into  requisition.  Paris 
dresses,  laces,  coiffures,  and  jewelry 


158  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

are  to  be  worn  for  the  first  time.  At 
ten  and  a  half  o'clock  we  saw  the 
spacious  rowboats  belonging  to  the 
Emperor  nearing  our  ship.  How 
gaily  they  were  decked  out  with  scar- 
let cloth  and  fringe  hanging  over  the 
sides  almost  touching  the  water ;  each 
boat  was  rowed  by  twelve  men  dressed 
in  white  caps  and  uniform.  They  ap- 
proached the  vessel's  side  with  ex- 
treme caution,  owing  to  the  heavy 
sea,  which  was  rolling  in.  As  the 
boat  would  rise  upon  a  wave  and  sink 
away,  one  person  stepped  in  after  an- 
other until  it  was  filled,  when  another 
boat  would  take  its  place.  In  this 
way  all  were  safely  landed.  We 
left  the  boat  by  crimson-carpeted 
steps  leading  up  from  the  water  into 
a  picturesque  canopied  landing.  The 
ladies  occupied  the  carriages  and  the 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  159 

gentlemen  rode  on  horseback.  We 
formed  quite  a  procession,  number- 
ing over  sixty  persons. 

"  The  gates  were  thrown  open  to 
admit  us  to  the  palace  grounds.  A 
company  of  mounted  Cossacks  were 
drawn  up  on  each  side  of  the  gate, 
and  we  passed  through  in  military 
order,  escorted  by  the  Grand  Duke 
Michael,  brother  of  the  Emperor, 
who  had  met  us  on  the  way. 

"At  precisely  twelve  o'clock  we 
formed  in  front  of  the  palace.  The 
smoothly  cut  lawn  around  us  was  like 
a  velvet  carpet,  with  a  profusion  of 
surrounding  flowers.  Immediately 
the  Emperor  and  the  Empress  ap- 
peared, accompanied  by  their  daugh- 
ter Marie,  and  one  of  their  sons,  the 
Grand  Duke  Serge,  followed  by  a 
retinue  of  distinguished  persons. 


i6o  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

"  The  American  Consul  who  had 
come  with  us  from  Odessa  stepped 
forward  and  read  a  short  address  to 
his  Imperial  Highness  Alexander  II, 
Czar  of  Russia,  which  had  been  pre- 
pared and  signed  by  the  passengers. 
The  Emperor  replied  to  it  by  saying 
'that  he  thanked  us  for  the  address 
and  was  very  much  pleased  to  meet 
us,  especially  as  such  friendly  rela- 
tions exist  between  Russia  and  the 
United  States.'  The  Empress  fur- 
ther replied  by  saying  'that  Ameri- 
cans were  favourites  in  Russia,'  and 
she  hoped  her  people  were  the  same 
with  the  Americans. 

"  The  Emperor  is  tall  and  well- 
proportioned,  with  a  mild  yet  firm 
expression.  The  impression  of  the 
beholders  is  that  he  is  one  born  to 
command.    He  wore  a  white  cap  and 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  i6i 

a  white  linen  suit,  the  coat  confined 
with  a  belt  around  the  waist  and 
ornamented  with  gilt  buttons  and 
elaborate  epaulets. 

**  The  Empress  is  of  medium 
height,  fair  complexion,  and  al- 
though delicate  looking  she  appears 
young  for  one  of  her  age.  A  bright, 
welcoming  smile  lit  up  her  face.  Her 
dress  was  white  foulard  silk,  dotted 
with  blue  and  richly  trimmed  with 
blue  satin.  She  wore  a  small  sleeve- 
less jacket,  a  broad  blue  sash,  and 
around  her  neck  was  a  tie  made  of 
sw^iss  muslin  and  Valenciennes  lace. 
On  her  head  was  a  straw  hat  trimmed 
with  blue  velvet  and  black  lace.  Her 
hands  were  covered  with  flesh-cov- 
ered kid  gloves,  and  she  carried  a 
light  drab  parasol  lined  with  blue 
silk. 


i62  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

*'  The  Grand  Duchess  was  attired 
in  a  dress  of  similar  material  to  that 
of  her  mother,  only  this  was  more 
tastefully  arranged  with  blue  silk 
and  fringe,  a  belt  of  the  same  ma- 
terial as  the  dress,  fastened  by  a 
large  rosette,  and  a  straw  hat  also 
trimmed  with  blue  silk. 

"  The  Grand  Duke  Serge  is  quite 
young,  and  a  well-appearing  youth. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  scarlet  blouse 
and  white  pants. 

"  Individual  introductions  fol- 
lowed. Several  of  the  ladies,  includ- 
ing myself,  had  an  opportunity  of 
conversing  with  the  Empress.  All 
of  the  Imperial  family  speak  En- 
glish very  well. 

"We  were  escorted  through  the 
buildings  by  the  Emperor  and  Em- 
press, entering  a  door  which  was  on 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  163 

either  side  a  bower  of  flowers.  Al- 
most all  the  apartments  were  thrown 
open.  The  floors  were  inlaid  and 
polished,  and  the  furniture  was  cu- 
rious and  costly.  The  Emperor  took 
special  pains  to  show  us  the  chapel, 
where  he  and  his  family  worshipped. 
It  was  very  handsome,  and  connected 
with  the  main  building. 

"Every  eff'ort  was  made  by  the 
Imperial  family  to  welcome  us,  and 
really  the  Pilgrims  seemed  to  act  as 
much  at  home  as  though  they  were 
accustomed  to  calling  on  Emperors 
every  day, 

"  I  could  not  realise  that  we  were 
being  entertained  by  a  ruler  of  more 
than  eighty  million  people,  and 
whose  word  was  the  supreme  law  of 
the  most  powerful  nation  on  the 
globe. 


t64  sixty  years  WITH 

"  At  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening 
the  anchor  was  lifted  and  we  sailed 
by  the  Czar's  palace,  which  was 
brilliantly  lighted,  and  amid  the 
booming  of  cannon,  and  the  shooting 
of  rockets,  and  a  blue  light  illuminat- 
ing our  ship  we  bade  farewell  to  a 
scene  which  I  shall  treasure  as  one  of 
the  brightest  remembrances  of  my 
life." 

From  Yalta  the  steamer  sailed 
across  the  Black  Sea,  through  the 
Bosphorus,  down  the  coast  of  Asia 
JMinor,  to  the  Gulf  of  Smyrna,  an- 
choring in  the  harbour  of  Smyrna. 
A  delay  was  made  to  give  time  to 
visit  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Ephesus.  Passing  the  coast  of  the 
Isle  of  Cyprus  the  next  landing  place 
was  Beirut,  where  several  days  were 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  165 

spent,  affording  the  pilgrims  oppor- 
tunity to  visit  the  Mountains  of 
Lebanon,  the  ruins  of  Baalbec,  and 
the  city  of  Damascus.  From  Beirut 
we  sailed  down  the  coast  of  Pales- 
tine, passing  Tyre  and  Sidon.  The 
steamer  anchored  off  the  harbour  of 
Jaffa.  Three  weeks  were  given  to 
visit  Jerusalem,  Bethany,  the  River 
Jordan,  the  Dead  Sea,  Jericho,  and 
other  places  in  the  Holy  Land.  At 
Jerusalem  one  of  the  Plymouth 
Church  passengers,  Mr.  Moses 
Beach,  purchased  an  olive  tree  at  the 
foot  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  near  the 
Garden  of  Gethsemane,  had  it  cut 
down  and  transported  to  Jaffa,  where 
it  was  placed  on  board  the  Quaker 
City,  brought  home,  and  through  the 
generosity  of  Mr.  Beach  was  made 
into  furniture  which  now  stands  in 


i66  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Plymouth  pulpit.  The  next  landing 
place  was  Alexandria,  Egypt,  giving 
an  opportunity  to  visit  Cairo  and  the 
Pyramids.  From  Alexandria  the 
voyage  was  continued  homeward, 
stopping  at  Malta,  Gibraltar  and 
Bermuda. 

It  was  a  great  journey,  as  it  af- 
forded a  majestic  and  sublime  pano- 
rama of  the  different  nations,  kin- 
dreds, and  tongues  of  the  world,  and 
may  well  take  its  place  among  other 
great  events  of  Plymouth  Church. 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  167 


PERSONALIA 

GREAT  deal  of  the 
power  of  church  Hfe,  as 
well  as  of  personal  life, 
centres  about  personal 
items.  Without  seeking  to  arrange 
them  chronologically  or  even  to  asso- 
ciate them  topically,  I  wish  to  gather 
up  in  this  chapter  some  of  the  inci- 
dents that  do  not  well  belong  in  the 
preceding  chapters.  Some  of  them  it 
is  easy  to  locate,  others  have  lost  their 
setting,  as  the  years  have  gone  by, 
and  stand  out  with  an  individuality 
that  is  their  own.  It  is  no  reflection 
on  Mr.  Beecher's  successors,  noble 
and  true  men,  that  he  figures  so 
prominently  in  them.     The  memory 


i68  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

of  those  early  days  when,  as  a  coun- 
try lad,  I  came  to  Brooklyn,  naturally 
centres  around  the  man  who  from 
my  boyhood,  through  early  manhood 
and  into  middle  age  had  a  mighty  in- 
fluence upon  my  life. 

One  event  I  recall,  in  the  very  first 
year  of  my  new  life.  In  itself  it  was 
no  more  significant  or  important  than 
many  others,  but  it  meant  much  to 
me,  opening  up  as  it  did  a  broader 
vision  of  world-wide  interest,  and 
particularly  of  the  close  connection 
between  things  called  secular  and  re- 
ligious. The  slavery  question  had  a 
profound  religious  bearing,  and 
touched  the  very  core  of  Plymouth 
Church  life,  yet  even  that  does  not 
stand  out  more  vividly  in  my  memory 
than  the  scene  when  Louis  Kossuth 
landed  at  the  Battery  from  an  Amer- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  169 

ican  man-of-war,  and  rode  up  Broad- 
way escorted  by  a  hundred  or  more 
prominent  citizens.  We  boys  knew 
little  about  him,  but  none  the  less 
eagerly  we  hurried  along,  barely  es- 
caping the  horses'  feet,  and  none  the 
less  lustily  we  joined  in  the  shout. 
Later,  through  Mr.  Beecher's  refer- 
ences to  him  and  his  work,  and  by 
seeing  him  in  Plymouth  Church,  we 
came  to  know  that  the  fight  for  lib- 
erty was  the  same,  whether  in  the 
South  or  in  Europe,  and  whether  it 
was  for  black  men  that  we  knew  or 
for  Hungarians  of  whom  we  knew 
nothing,  scarcely  even  the  name. 
Another  lesson  that  we  learned  was 
that  the  whole  world  is  kin,  and  that 
even  far-off  lands  cannot  suffer  op- 
pression and  wrong  without  other 
lands  suffering  with  them.     So  Ply- 


I70  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

mouth  pulpit  became  a  platform  for 
the  presentation  of  every  form  of  ap- 
peal to  the  best  Christian  conscious- 
ness of  the  church  and  through  the 
church  of  the  nation. 

Another  scene,  after  I  had  grown 
to  manhood,  illustrates  the  same  chiv- 
alry that  was  bound  to  assert  the 
claims  of  any  person  or  any  class. 
Mr.  Beecher  was  always  an  advocate 
of  women's  rights.  He  could  never 
see  why  women  should  be  debarred 
from  so  many  of  the  privileges,  or 
duties,  of  social  life.  During  the  first 
Lincoln  campaign  there  appeared 
upon  the  lecture  platform  a  woman 
who  brought  a  woman's  plea  for  the 
cause  of  liberty  and  human  rights. 
No  one  who  ever  heard  Anna  Dick- 
inson speak  could  forget  her,  or 
failed  to  be  moved  by  her  eloquence. 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  171 

Of  course  Mr.  Beecher  was  her 
friend,  and  welcomed  her  assistance 
in  the  contest  that  was  growing  more 
and  more  severe.  She  drew  great 
crowds  whenever  she  spoke. 

I  was  then  president  of  the  Cen- 
tral Republican  Club,  and  we  en- 
gaged Miss  Dickinson  to  speak  in 
the  Academy  of  Music,  where  we 
were  then  holding  meetings.  Some 
days  before  the  meeting  was  to  take 
place  the  secretary  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  Academy  called  at 
my  office  with  a  notice  that  the  di- 
rectors could  not  allow  Miss  Dick- 
inson to  speak  in  that  building. 

I  did  not  know  what  to  do.  The 
meeting  had  been  extensively  adver- 
tised. I  finally  decided  to  go  and  see 
Mr.  Beecher.  As  I  recited  the  facts 
to  him   I  could  see  the  expression  of 


172  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

indignation  and  the  colour  come  to 
his  face.  He  thought  a  moment  and 
said,  "  Wait  until  next  Sunday  morn- 
mg. 

The  next  Sunday  the  church  was 
packed.  When  Mr.  Beecher  gave 
the  notices  and  came  to  Miss  Dickin- 
son's lecture,  he  called  the  board  of 
directors  to  account  for  this  action 
in  refusing  to  allow  a  woman  to  speak 
in  the  Academy  of  Music.  One  of 
the  directors,  who  was  present,  being 
ignorant  of  the  situation,  took  it  up 
and  denied  the  action  of  the  directors. 
Then  said  Mr.  Beecher,  "  I  take  back 
all  that  I  have  said."  I  was  there  in 
the  west  gallery,  and  at  once  decided 
not  to  allow  a  misrepresentation  like 
that  to  pass,  and,  mounted  on  the 
backs  of  two  pews,  I  recited  to  the 
audience  all  of  the  facts  and  the  of- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  173 

ficial  notice  which  I  had  from  the  di- 
rectors, that  the  Academy  could  not 
be  used  for  this  woman  to  speak  in. 

When  I  had  finished,  the  congre- 
gation broke  into  great  applause. 
Mr.  Beecher  then  went  on  with  his 
remarks,  scoring  the  directors  of  the 
Academy,  and  created  such  a  senti- 
ment in  the  community  that  the  di- 
rectors rescinded  their  action,  and  the 
great  mass  meeting,  with  Miss  Dick- 
inson as  speaker,  took  place. 

Since  then,  not  only  the  Academy 
of  Music,  but  other  public  buildings 
throughout  the  Country  have  been 
open  for  women  to  speak  in,  upon 
any  subject. 

Stories  of  Mr.  Beecher's  sayings 
might  be  gathered  by  the  thousand, 
indeed  they  have  been,  and  published 
in  a  book  for  the  use  of  ministers, 


174  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

teachers,  and  public  speakers.  Fortu- 
nately or  unfortunately  the  reporter 
was  not  quite  so  ubiquitous  then, 
especially  in  the  earlier  days,  as  now, 
but  still  there  was  a  sufficient  amount 
of  newspaper  enterprise,  and  I  often 
wish  I  had  kept  a  record  of  the  inci- 
dents and  trenchant  remarks  that 
were  gathered  up.  A  good  many, 
however,  never  got  into  the  papers. 
Whether  or  not  the  following  did  I 
cannot  say.  Certainly  I  did  not  get 
them  from  the  press. 

One  day  the  evening  papers  an- 
nounced that  a  terrible  accident  had 
happened  to  Mrs.  Beecher,  that  she 
had  been  thrown  out  of  her  carriage 
in  lower  Fulton  Street,  been  dashed 
against  the  steps  of  the  Long  Island 
Bank,  and  so  seriously  injured  that 
she  was  not  expected  to  live,  and 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  i75 

some  said  that  she  had  been  killed. 
That  evening  at  the  prayer  meeting 
no  one  expected  to  see  Mr.  Beecher. 
He  came  as  usual  and  the  people 
crowded  around  him  asking  about 
Mrs.  Beecher,  as  she  had  been  re- 
ported killed.  He  seemed  quite  dis- 
turbed by  the  persistent  inquiries  of 
those  around  him.  In  a  half  impa- 
tient manner  he  said,  "  It  would  have 
been  serious  with  any  other  woman." 
The  same  cool,  imperturbable  bear- 
ing so  often  manifest  in  his  experi- 
ences in  England  came  out  again  and 
again  during  the  stirring  scenes  in 
this  country.  When  the  Civil  War 
broke  out  and  the  riots  in  New  York 
took  place  for  several  days  the  city 
was  almost  in  the  hands  of  the  mob. 
It  was  given  out  that  Plymouth 
Church  was  to  be  attacked  the  next 


176  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

Sunday  evening.  Crowds  of  rough- 
looking  men  came  over  the  ferry  and 
mixed  with  the  congregation.  John 
Folk,  superintendent  of  the  police 
force  of  Brooklyn,  with  forty  of  his 
men  was  in  the  lecture  room  and 
back  of  the  organ  to  protect  Mr. 
Beecher,  in  case  of  an  attempt  to 
reach  him,  amid  the  intense  excite- 
ment of  the  audience.  Mr.  Beecher 
came  upon  the  platform  calm  and 
cool  and  proceeded  with  the  services 
as  usual.  During  the  sermon  a  stone 
crashed  through  the  upper  windows 
from  the  outside.  Mr.  Beecher 
stopped,  looked  up  to  the  windows, 
and  then  to  the  great  congregation, 
and  said  "Miscreant,"  and  calmly 
went  on  with  his  sermon. 

He  was  always  glad  when  he  could 
be,  so  to  speak,  off  duty,  and  be  free 


PLY  MOUTH  CHURCH  177 

to  do  whatever  occurred  to  him  to  do, 
whether  anybody  else  would  ever  have 
thought  of  it  or  not.  One  Sunday 
evening  when  his  pulpit  was  occupied 
by  some  other  pastor  he  was  seen  sit- 
ting in  the  third  gallery.  When 
asked  why  he  was  up  there,  he  re- 
plied "  that  he  wanted  to  see  how  the 
preacher  looked  from  that  point  of 
view." 

The  boys  on  the  Heights  all  knew 
Mr.  Beecher  and  liked  to  meet  him 
because  he  always  had  a  word  with 
them.  In  coming  to  church  one  day 
he  met  a  group  of  boys.  They  hailed 
him  in  this  fashion:  "There  goes 
Mr.  Beecher,  he  is  a  screecher." 
When  he  reached  the  church  it 
seemed  to  please  him  to  tell  the  story 
to  the  congregation. 

Whenever  Mr.  Beecher  crossed  the 


178  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

ocean  he  was  very  sea-sick,  and  after 
landing  he  would  say  that  those 
whom  God  abhorred  He  sent  to  sea. 
This  was  probably  the  reason  why  at 
the  last  moment  he  decided  not  to 
to  take  the  trip  in  the  Quaker  City, 
referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter. 
The  expedition  would  never  have 
been  organised  but  for  Mr.  Beecher, 
and  yet  it  had  to  go  without  him. 

While  in  a  very  real  sense  Mr. 
Beecher  was  a  true  cosmopolitan, 
and  a  genuine  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  he  was  specially  fond  of 
New  England,  was  grateful  that 
that  section  was  his  birthplace,  and 
always  glad  when  one  opportunity  or 
another  called  him  there  to  lecture  or 
preach.  The  New  England  people 
fully  reciprocated  the  feeling  and  in 
turn  Mr.  Beecher  used  to  declare  that 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  179 

"  New  England  was  the  brain  of  the 
nation."  Little  wonder  that  so  many- 
New  England  boys  found  their  way 
to  Plymouth  Church. 

In  a  similar  way  he  was  very  fond 
of  Brooklyn  as  the  city  of  homes. 
He  was  interested  in  New  York,  with 
its  bustle  and  rush,  as  the  "work 
shop,"  but  Brooklyn  was  the  "  board- 
ing house,"  and  many  a  semi-homeless 
boarder  found  a  warm  welcome  in 
Plymouth  Church.  Perhaps  it  was 
these  people  that  he  had  in  mind 
when  Plymouth  Church  could  not 
hold  half  the  people  who  desired  to 
attend  the  services,  and  he  appealed 
to  the  pewholders  to  stay  away  even- 
ings and  give  their  pews  to  strangers, 
inaugurating  thus  a  custom  which  has 
continued  to  the  present  time. 

While  preaching  upon  the  great- 


i8o  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

ness  of  God's  work  as  compared  with 
the  works  of  man,  he  said  man  can 
tunnel  mountains,  build  ships  to  cross 
the  sea,  span  the  world  with  the  tele- 
graph, cross  the  continent  with  the 
iron  horse,  build  cathedrals  and 
capitols,  machines  to  fly  in  the  air, 
and  explore  the  depths  of  the  sea,  but 
with  all  of  man's  greatness  and  skill, 
"  he  cannot  make  a  fly." 

In  a  vivid  description  of  a  thunder 
storm  illustrating  some  part  of  his 
sermon  he  closed  with  a  most  beau- 
tiful piece  of  word  painting  in  de- 
scribing the  passing  away  of  the 
clouds  after  the  storm,  picturing  the 
sun  shining  upon  the  edges  of  the 
clouds  making  a  pathway  as  he  said 
for  "  Angels  to  walk  to  and  fro  when 
they  came  down  from  Heaven." 

Intensely  practical  as  he  was  in  his 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  i8i 

conception  of  religion,  Mr.  Beecher 
had  a  very  profound  sense  of  the 
future  life,  and  there  was  always  a 
sub-stratum  of  that  thought  in  his 
preaching.  In  a  sermon  on  the  Dar- 
winian theory  he  said,  "I  do  not 
care  where  I  came  from;  it  is  where 
I  am  going  to  that  I  am  interested 
in." 

In  a  sermon  on  Heaven,  he  said 
that  everyone  had  a  right  to  make 
their  own  Heaven.  The  one  that  in- 
spired in  them  the  greatest  hope  and 
most  beautiful  thoughts  and  gave 
them  the  greatest  happiness  was  their 
Heaven.  Speaking  of  the  end  of 
life,  he  said  that  when  he  died  he 
would  like  to  pass  out  of  life  sud- 
denly, like  a  cannon  ball  shot  out  of 
a  cannon. 


1 82  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 


FUTURE  PLYMOUTH 

"V^-^HAT  will  become  of  Ply- 
■  ■  ■  "^^^^'^  Church  when  Mr. 
\H^r  Beecher  passes  away?  was 
a  question  often  asked  in 
the  early  days.  The  answer  to  that 
has  already  been  given.  It  was  a 
severe  test  to  which  the  church  was 
put,  but  it  stood  it  nobly.  Again 
when  Dr.  Abbott  was  pastor  the  same 
question  was  asked.  Ten  years  of 
successful  life  is  the  sufficient  an- 
swer to  that.  Now  again  the  ques- 
tion comes  up  under  the  pastoral  care 
of  Dr.  HiUis. 

My  answer  to  this  last  question  as 
to  the  others  is,  that  the  life  of  Ply- 
mouth Church  does  not  depend  upon 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  183 

any  one  man,  however  great  he  may 
be.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  three 
men  more  different,  each  from  the 
other,  than  the  three  who  have  filled 
Plymouth  pulpit.  Yet  after  all  the 
general  type  of  the  church  life  has 
not  changed,  nor  has  its  attitude  to- 
ward the  surrounding  city  and  the 
wider  national  life  taken  on  a  differ- 
ent character.  The  emphasis  now,  as 
always,  is  on  Christian  living,  in  the 
assurance  that  out  of  that  living  will 
come  Christian  thinking.  Each  in 
his  own  way,  but  each  with  the  same 
purpose  and  the  same  result,  has 
preached  the  gospel  of  life.  The 
form  of  that  life  has  varied,  but  the 
variation  has  been  occasioned  by  the 
need  of  adaptation  to  the  general 
type  of  church  life,  as  illustrated  on 
every  hand.    Plymouth  has   simply 


1 84  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

shown  its  ability  to  meet  new  condi- 
tions in  itself. 

So  also  wdth  regard  to  the  broader 
relation  to  public  life.  It  is  now,  as 
it  always  has  been,  the  natural  and 
the  expected  thing  that  every  great 
cause,  for  righteousness  and  peace, 
should  send  its  advocates  to  Brooklyn 
and  that  they  should  have  a  welcome 
in  Plymouth  pulpit.  A  significant 
illustration  of  this  occurred  but  re- 
cently at  the  opening  of  the  great 
Peace  Congress.  The  two  churches 
that  w^re  identified  with  it  more  than 
any  others  were  Plymouth  and  Broad- 
way Tabernacle.  Probably  no  pastor 
in  the  country  is  more  widely  known 
for  his  practical  interest  in  public 
affairs  than  is  Dr.  Hillis,  and  wher- 
ever he  goes  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  he  is  welcomed  both  for  him- 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  185 

self  and  as  the  pastor  of  Plymouth 
Church.  The  simple  fact  is  it  is  the 
same  old  Plymouth.  It  has  grown 
up  with  the  country,  has  had  its  share 
in  the  making  of  the  country,  whether 
in  the  strife  of  war  or  in  the  urgency 
for  peace,  and  has  made  for  itself  a 
name  that  will  stand,  like  Faneuil 
Hall  in  Boston,  or  Independence 
Hall  in  Philadelphia,  for  all  time  to 
come. 

This  permanency,  however,  will  be 
as  its  strength  has  been  in  the  wise 
management  of  the  church  in  its 
various  departments.  The  problem 
of  a  city  church  located  as  Plymouth 
is  must  be  to-day  very  different  from 
that  which  faced  its  founders.  Brook- 
lyn has  gone  'way  beyond  the 
Heights,  and  while  strangers  still 
find  it  easy  to  reach,  the  permanent 


1 86  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

membership  extends  over  a  wide  ter- 
ritory and  must  of  necessity  be  more 
or  less  transitory.  This  uncertainty 
brings  to  view  the  necessity  of  perma- 
nence of  financial  basis.  They  are 
wise,  strong  men  who  are  in  charge, 
as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  notwith- 
standing the  changes  that  are  inevi- 
table, the  church  is  free  from  debt  and 
is  accumulating  permanent  funds 
which  will  be  of  great  value.  Run- 
ning expenses  of  all  kinds,  pastors' 
salaries,  music,  etc.,  are  met  from 
current  income  from  pew  rents,  leav- 
ing the  church  free  to  put  additional 
sums  into  permanent  form.  Then 
there  is  a  Beecher  endowment  fund 
of  almost  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and 
a  Beecher  memorial  fund  of  the  same 
amount.  Constantly  sums  of  money 
are  coming  into  the  church  treasury 


Chair  Used  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
IN  Plymouth  Church 


PLTMOUTH  CHURCH  187 

from  legacies  or  special  gifts,  and 
these  are  either  invested  or  applied 
to  improvements  such  as  it  is  judged 
will  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the 
church  work.  Among  these  is  a 
Beecher  memorial  building  soon  to 
be  erected  adjoining  the  church.  The 
alteration  of  the  front  entrance  is 
contemplated,  and  other  work  which 
will  prove  advantageous  to  the  so- 
ciety. Memorial  stained  glass  win- 
dows are  to  be  put  in,  contributed  by 
members. 

Perhaps  still  more  important  is  the 
development  of  the  church  activities. 
In  Mr.  Beecher 's  time  the  great  fea- 
ture of  church  life  was  the  sermon. 
To-day  it  is  church  organisation. 
Some  seem  to  think  that  the  preach- 
ing of  to-day  is  inferior  to  that  of  a 
generation   ago.     While   it  may  be 


SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 


true  that  no  single  man  stands  out  as 
did  Mr.  Beecher,  Dr.  R.  S.  Storrs, 
or  Dr.  William  M.  Taylor,  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  average  of  preaching 
is  higher.  Dr.  Hillis  is  not  Mr. 
Beecher,  but  he  is  Dr.  Hillis,  and 
Plymouth  people  never  go  from  Ply- 
mouth Church  without  the  thought 
of  a  good  and  great  presentation  of 
truth.  However  that  may  be,  one 
thing  is  very  noticeable:  the  growth 
in  Plymouth,  as  elsewhere,  of  church 
societies.  The  women  have  their 
societies  for  Plome  and  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, there  is  a  Young  Woman's 
Guild,  and  a  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
Missionary  Circle,  a  Young  Men's 
Club,  and  an  organisation  of  older 
men  known  as  Plymouth  Men.  The 
year  that  Mr.  Beecher  died  The  Ply- 
mouth League  was  formed  and  had 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  189 

a  successful  career  until  a  few  years 
ago,  when  it  was  dropped. 

So  Plymouth  has  kept  abreast  of 
the  times,  using  any  means  that 
seemed  to  promise  usefulness,  ever 
ready  to  change  where  change  was 
adjudged  wise,  ready  to  drop  any- 
thing that  in  the  shifting  conditions 
had  outlived  its  usefulness,  loyal  to 
its  past,  yet  realising  that  the  high- 
est loyalty  is  to  a  future  ideal  rather 
than  a  past  achievement.  Mr. 
Beecher  was  no  iconoclast,  and  at  the 
same  time,  the  past,  however  great 
and  grand,  as  such,  had  no  attraction 
for  him.  His  eye  was  set  on  the  fu- 
ture, a  future  that  included  the  in- 
dividual life  and  the  corporate  life. 
Present-day  socialism  had  scarcely 
dawned  during  his  day,  but  were  he 
living  now  he  would  be  found  in  line 


I90  SIXTY  YEARS  WITH 

with  the  broadest  and  the  freest  con- 
ceptions of  society,  and  true  to  his 
belief  that  the  church  should  lead. 
This  not  because  it  is  an  organisation, 
including  wise  men,  or  divinely  or- 
dered, but  because  it  expresses  in  the 
fullest  and  best  way  the  divine  prin- 
ciples that  must  govern  society.  That 
this  idea  of  his  so  dominated  the 
church  in  its  early  life  and  has  con- 
tinued to  control  it  to  the  present  day 
is  the  true  basis  for  confidence  as  to 
its  future. 

Plymouth  Church  will  stand  just 
so  long  as  it  represents  this  ideal,  and 
applies  it  to  all  classes  and  conditions 
of  men,  without  regard  to  race  or 
creed.  To-day,  as  of  old,  men  of 
every  form  of  belief  or  no  belief  find 
a  welcome  and  find  help,  and  many 
go  forth  with  old  ideas  changed,  new 


PLYMOUTH  CHURCH  191 

ambitions  stirred,  a  clearer  vision  of 
what  it  means  to  live  a  Christian  life. 
If  the  time  ever  comes  when  that  is 
not  true,  then  Plymouth  Church  will 
be  a  relic  of  the  past,  a  curiosity,  to 
be  visited  by  strangers  as  Plymouth 
Rock  or  Westminster  Abbey.  That 
that  time  will  ever  come  I  do  not 
believe.  However  much  the  centres 
of  population  may  change,  the  needs 
of  men  never  change,  and  even  if 
other  churches  should  follow  their 
constituencies  to  other  sections,  Ply- 
mouth will  remain,  a  living  monu- 
ment to  the  truth  and  the  life  that 
has  been  from  its  origin  its  power. 


THE  END 


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